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THE 



RIA ER MISSISSIPPI, 



ST. PAUL TO NEW ORLEANS, 



WITH VIEWS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF CITIES CONNECTED WITH 
ITS TRADE AND COMMERCE, 



AKD OTHER 



PLACES AND OBJECTS OF INTEREST 

IN THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPL 

WITH 30 RIVER CHARTS AKD 40 ENGRAVINGS. 



/ NEW YORK 



ALEX. HAETHILL, 20 NORTH WILLIAM STREET; 

ROSS »fc TOUSEY; H. DEXTER & CO.; HENDRICKSON, BLAKE & LONG. 

ST. LOUIS :— L. BlTSHNELL. NEW ORLEANS :— J. C. MORGAN. 

ClNCtNNWTt:— ANDERSON, GATB3 & WRiaflT. St. PAUL !— COOMBS BR0THKR8. 

And Sold by all Booksellers and Newsmen. 







- SS3 



By «-aMtf*r froQi 

Pat. •«««JUb, 

▲prll 1914. 



1^ 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Albany, 111 19 

Alexandria, Mo 25 

Alton, 111 26 

Andalusia, 111 20 

Arkansas River 64 

Ashton Ark 66 

Ashport, Tenn 52 

Aston, 111 25 

Bainbridge, Mo 44 

Baldwinsville, Md 46 

Baltimore, Md 107, 112 

Barnev's, Ark 60 

Battle"Field, Wis 15 

Bartield's Point 52 

Baton Rouije, La 84 

Bayou La Fourche 84 

Bayou Goule 84 

Bayou Sara 82 

Bayou Pierre, Miss 70 

Beckwith's Landing 48 

Belleview, Iowa 19 

Ben Sherrod Steamer, Loss 

of 76 

Bickwith, Mo 46 

Birmingham, Mo 44 

Big Black River 70 

Black Hawk Steamer, Loss 

of 78 

Black River 15 

Blue's Point, Ark 58 

Bolivia, Miss 64 

Boonville, 111 25 

Booth's Point 52 

Breeseville, 111 44 

Brandvwine Steamer, Loss 

of.". 54 

Brookl3'n, Minn 15 

Brownsville, Minn 15 

Bruinsburg, Miss 70 

Bucna Vista, Iowa IS 

Buttiilo, Iowa 20 

Butcher's Cut-off 66 

Burlington, Iowa 22 

Cahokia, 111 41 

Cairo, 111 44 

Camanche, Iowa 19 

Cannon River 15 

Carondok"t,'Mo 41 

Carolina Landing, Miss. . . 66 

Carrollton, La 86 

Cassville, Wis Is 

Chalk Banks 46 

Charleston, S. C 113, 114 

Chester, III 41 

Chickasaw Bluffs 51 

Ciii])i)ewa River 15 

Cincinnati, Wis IS 

Cincinnati, Mo 26 



PAGE 

Cincinnati, Ohio 95, 104 

Clarksville, Mo 26 

Clifton, Mo 41 

Clayton, Iowa 18 

Columbia, Ark 64 

Columbus, Ky 46 

Commerce, Mo 44 

Commerce, Miss 58 

Concordia, Miss 60 

Cordova, 111...-. 19 

Cornice Rocks 44 

Crossman Col., Steamer, 

Loss of 48 

Davenport, Iowa 20 

Davton, 111 25 

Dear Plain, Mo 26 

Delta, Miss 60 

Devil's Bake Oven 41 

Devel's Tea Table 44 

Desmoine's City 25 

Desmoine's River 25 

Donaldson ville. La 86 

Down the Mississippi, 

Poetry 37 

Dubuque City, Iowa IS 

Dubuque Steamer, Loss of 20 

Dunleath, 111 19 

Ellis's Cliff, Miss 70 

Earthquake, at New Madrid 50 

Fabian's River 25 

Fairport, Iowa 20 

Fevre or Fever River I'j 

Floods on the Mississippi. 56 

Fort Adams, Miss 76 

Fort Chartres, 111 41 

Port Madison, Iowa 22 

Fort Pickering, Tenn 58 

Fort Snelling^ Minn 13 

Forked Deer River 52 

Frankford, Iowa 18 

Friar's Point, Miss 60 

Fulton City, 111 ly 

Fulton, Tenn 52 

Galena, 111 19 

Gilead, III 26 

Giraiideau, Cape, Mo 44 

Grand Tower 41 

Grand Lake Landing, Ark. 64 

Grafton, III .". 26 

Grays<in, Ark 58 

Greenock, Ark 64 

Greenville, Miss 64 

Guttenburg, Iowa 18 

Hamburg, Ml 26 

Hamburg, III 44 

Hamilton City, 111 2^ 

Hampton, 111 20 

Hannibal, Mo 25 

3 



PAOI 

Harrison ville. III 41 

Hastings, Jlinn 18 

Hatchee River 62 

Helena, Ark 60 

Helen McGregor, Loss of. . 56 

Herculaneum, Mo 41 

Hickman, Ky 48 

Hookah Rirer 15 

Horse-Shoe Cut-off 60 

Huron, Iowa 22 

Illinois River 26 

Illinoistown, III 41 

Iowa River 22 

Iowa, Iowa 20 

Iron Banks 46 

Iron Mountain, Mo 30 

Jamestown, Wis 18 

Jefferson Barracks, Mo. . . 41 

Joe Eckle's Bend 52 

Kanzas, Wis 16 

Kaskaskia River 41 

Keithsburg, III 22 

Keokuk, Iowa 25 

Kilroy, Iowa 18 

Laconia, Ark 60 

La Crosse, Wis 15 

La Grange, Mo 25 

Lafa3-ette City, La 86 

Lansing, Iowa 15 

Lake Landing, Ark 64 

Lake Pepin 15 

Le Claire, Iowa 20 

Liberty, 111 41 

Lioness Steamer, Loss of. . 78 

Little Prairie, Mo 62 

Louisville, Ky 44 

Louisiana, Mo 26 

Lynxville, Wis 15 

Lyons, Iowa 19 

Maiden's Rock 15 

Manchac, La 84 

Marion City, Mo 25 

Makoquetta River 19 

Mary's River 41 

Memphis, Tenn 54 

Mendota, Minn 13 

Minnehaha Falls 11, 12 

Minnesota City 15 

Mississippi River. .5, 6, 7 & 10 
Missouri,Mineral resources 

of 30 

Missouri River 26 

Moline, 111 20 

Montgomerv's Point 60 

Montebello,"lll 25 

Montrose, Iowa 25 

Moselle, 111 19 

Mound City, Ark 54 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Mountain Island 15 

Mrs. Merrineather's Land- 
ing 52 

Muscatine, Iowa 20 

Napoleon, Ark 64 

Nashville, Iowa 25 

Natchez, Miss 70 

Nauvoo, 111 22 

Needham's Cut-off. 62 

New Boston, III 22 

New Madrid, Mo 50 

New Orleans, La 88, 93 

New Philadelphia, Mo 44 

New York, Mo 44 

Norfolk, Mo 40 

Norfolk, Miss 58 

Obion River 52 

Ohio River 44 

Ohio City, Mo 44 

Old Fort Jefferson 46 

Old Town, Ark 6o 

Oquawka, 111 22 

Orouoko Steamer, Loss of. 64 

Osceola, Ark 62 

Palmjra, Miss 70 

Parkhurst, Iowa 19 

Pecan Point 54 

Peru, Iowa IS 

Pittsburg, Pa 115, 116 

Platten Rock, Mo 41 

Plantations on the Miss. . . 64 

Plum Point 52 

Point Chicot, Ark 64 

Point Coupee Settlement. . 82 

Point Douglass, Miun 13 

Point Pleasant, Mo 62 

Portage des Sioux, Mo 26 

Port Hudson 82 

Port Louisa, Iowa 22 



PAGE 

Port Perry, Mo 41 

Portsmouth, 111 19 

Potosi, Wis 18 

Prairie du Chien, Wis 15 

Pratt's Landing, Mo 41 

Prescott, Wis 13 

Princess Steamer, Loss of. 84 

Princeton, Iowa 19 

Princeton, Miss 64 

Prophet's Island 82 

Providence, La 66 

Quincy, 111 25 

Raccourci Cut-off. 82 

Racoon River 15 

Railroad Bridge, Daven- 
port 21 

Randolph, 111 26 

Randolph, Tenn 54 

Red River 76 

Red River Island 78 

Red Rock, Minn 13 

Red Wing, Minn 15 

Riddle's Point, Mo 52 

Rising Sun, Minn 15 

Rob Roy Steamer, Loss of. 64 

Rock River 20 

Rock Island City 20 

Rodney, Miss .-. 70 

Rush Jlliver 15 

Rust Tower, Mo 41 

Sabula, Iowa 19 

Salt River 25 

Savannah, 111 19 

Saverton, Mo 25 

Selma, Mo 41 

Sinopee, Wis 18 

Skunk River 22 

St. Anthony's Falls 10 

St. Croix Lake 13 



PAGE 

St. Croix River 13 

St. Francis River 58 

St. Genevieve, Mo 41 

St. Joseph's, La 70 

St. Louis, Mo 32, 3e 

St. Mary's Landing, Mo. . 41 
St. Nicholas Steamer, Loss 

of 58 

St. Paul's, Minn 10, 13 

Sterling, Ark 58 

Table of distances 117 

Teche, Steamer, Loss of. . . 74 

Thebes, 111 44 

Trempaleau River 15 

TuUy, Mo 25 

Tunica Bayou 82 

Turkey River •. 18 

Upper Alton, 111 26 

Upper Iowa River 15 

Union Point, 111 44 

Valley of the Missouri.. .27, 29 

Vermillion River 13 

Vicksburw, Miss 70 

Victoria, Miss 60 

Wabasha, Minn 15 

Walker's Bend 52 

Walnut Hills, Miss 70 

Warrentown, Miss 70 

Warsaw, 111 25 

Waterloo 82 

Wexford, Iowa 15 

Wheeling, Va 105, 106 

Wisconsin River 18 

Wittenburg, Mo 41 

Wolf Island, Legend of. . . 46 
Worthington Landing, Ar- 

kanzas 64 

Yazoo Pass 60 

Yazoo River 66 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

A Settler's First Home 23 

A Raft descending the River 23 

Baltimore, Md., A View of 108 

Battle Monument, Baltimore 110 

Bridge across the Ohio 106 

Canal St., New Orleans 89 

Cemetery at New Orleans 92 

Charleston, S. C, A View of 113 

Chart of the Mississippi, 30 pages 39, 87 

Cincinnati, 0., A View of 94 

Court House, Cincinnati 101 

Court House, St. Louis 35 

Davenport Railroad Bridge 21 

Fourth Street, Cincinnati 100 

French Cathedral, New Orleans 90 

Grace Church, Baltimore 110 

High School, St. Louis 36 

Hudson River Steamer 8 

Indian Mound 18 

Isaac Newton, Steamer 9 



Lake Pepin 17 

Log House in Dubuque 19 

Maiden's Rock 16 

Masonic Temple, Cincinnati 98 

Mercantile Library, St. Louis 34 

Minneapolis Bridge 11 

Minnehaha Falls 12 

Mississippi Steamer 8 

National Theatre, Cincinnati 102 

New Opera House, Cincinnati 101 

Pilot Knob, Iron Mountain 31 

Pittsburg, Pa., View of 115 

Prairie Scene in Illinois 24 

Railroad Station, Baltimore 112 

St. Louis University 34 

St. Paul, Minn., A View of 14 

Steaming up the Missouri 28 

Third Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 97 



View on the Upper Mississippi 17 

Wheeling, Va., A View of. 105 

Illustrated Time Indicator 2 

4 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 



HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE RIVER. 



This magnificent stream, called by the 
aborigines, and approved by general ac- 
claim, "The Father of Waters," is the 
largest fiver in North America, and, with its 
principal affluent, the Missouri, the longest 
in the world — the entire length from the 
source of the Missouri to the mouth of the 
Mississippi being 4,300 miles. The distance 
from the little lake Itasca, where the Missis- 
sippi proper takes its rise, to the Gulf of 
Mexico, into which the river empties, is 3,160 
miles. 

The course of the Mississippi being north 
and south, it traverses every variety of 
climate — commencing in the frigid, and 
winding through the temperate, almost to 
the burning zone. The hardy trapper, from 
the farthest north, laden with his store of 
furs, starts on his journey from the land of 
perpetual snow, and is borne, on the bosom 
of this marvellous stream, to the land of 



tropical fruits, where the soft breezes of the 
summer time are perennial. 

The waters of the Mississippi, above its 
confluence with the Missouri, are remarkably 
clear, but after mingling with the latter 
river, they become turbid and muddy, being 
nearly one-third sedimentary matter. 

Some of the largest and most beautiful 
rivers to be found on the continent are tribu- 
tary to the Mississippi. Among the most 
noted, after the Missouri, may be mentioned 
the Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Red, 
St. Peter's, DesMoines,and many others,whose 
waters are navigable for hundreds of miles. 

The descent of the waters of the Missis- 
sippi, from its source to its mouth, is about 
six inches to the mile. Its elevation at its 
extreme source is 1,680 feet ; at St. Anthony's 
Falls, 856 feet; at St. Louis, 382 feet; at 
Natches, 86 feet ; and opposite New Orleans, 
lOi feet. 



WIDTH OF THE RIVER. 



The width of the river at Pecagama, 2,885 
miles above the Gulf of Mexico, is about 80 
feet Below the Ohio it varies in breadth, 
from 600 to 1200 yards. Its depth below 



the Ohio, is from 90 to 120 feet. Just oppo- 
site New Orleans the river is half a mile 
wide, and 100 feet deep. 



FACILITIES FOR NAVIGATION. 



The Mississippi is navigable for ordinary 
sized steamboats, as far up as St. Paul's, 
Minnesota, which is nearly 2,200 miles from 
the Gulf. In seasons of high water boats 
can go as high as St. Anthony's Falls, nine 
miles above St. Paul's. 

An extraordinary peculiarity of the Mis- 
sissippi is, its extremely winding course. It 
will sometimes make a curve extending 30 
miles, and appear literally to run up hill, 
until it reaches within half a mile of the 



point of its divergence. In some places on 
the river channels have been cut through 
these narrow necks of land by the liands of 
men ; while, in other instances, tl>e waters 
have themselves washed a passage through 
the opposing soil. As the current of the 
Mississippi, especially that part of it which 
lies below its confluence with the Ohio, is 
very rapid, these unusual windings serve in a 
great measure to keep its speed in check, 
and thus to facilitate navigation. 



RIVER MISSISSIPPI. 



RISING AND FALLING OF THE RIVER. 



Inundations are frequent, and sometimes 
very disastrous, on the Mississippi. But as 
the river runs nortli and south, the opening 
of its waters runs in an inverse direction, 
and the spring releases, in succession, and by 
instalments as it were, first, the lower val- 
ley, next the middle section, and lastly, the 
more remote sources of the river and its 
tributaries. Thus, the released waters from 
the last-named region do not reach the mouth 
of the river until upwards of a month after 
the inundation there has abated. 

It is impossible to determine, with any de- 
gree of certaint}', when there will be a rise 
in the waters, or to what extent they will 
swell. In some seasons they do not rise 
above their channels; while in others, the 
entire valley of the lower Mississippi is sub- 
merged. 

In former years New Orleans suffered im- 
mense damage by in r.dation. She is now, 
however, well protected by strong embank- 



ments, called l&vees, being about 10 feet in 
height, and extending manj' miles above and 
below the city; but even these stubborn 
safeguards are sometimes swept away by the 
relentless flood. 

In heavy freshets, it is often the case, 
that immense masses of earth, with num- 
bers of large trees, are cut away from the 
bends of the river, and carried down the 
stream. The trees becoming water-soaked, 
often sink at one end, and. becoming embed- 
ded in the mud, leaves the other end floating 
near the surface, and forms those dangerous 
foes of upward-bound steamers, known as 
snags and sawyers. 

Before steam was introduced, sailing ves- 
sels were frequently nine or ten weeks in 
ascending the Mississippi as far up as the 
mouth of the Illinois. Now the swift 
steamer goes over the course in less than 
that number of days. 



DISCOVERY OF TIIE RIVER— and CONTRAST. 



In 1673 Joliet and Marquet discovered the 
Upper Mississippi, whose clear waters, then, 
for the first time, sparkled before the eyes 
of the white men. Seven years later. Father 
Hennipen ascended the river as far as the 
Falls of St Anthony. Eleven years after, 
in 1791, La Salle discovered the mouth of 
the great stream. 

De Soto, a Spanish adventurer, had dis- 
covered the waters of the Southern Missis- 
sippi, as early as 1539, but he only crossed 
the stream at a point lying between Missis- 
sippi and Arkansas, and did not attempt to 
traverse its course. 

What a contrast has a period of less than 
two centuries wrought in the history of the 
" Great River." Then, naught was to be 
seen upon its surface but the frail canoes of 



the red men, with an occasional solitary 
bark of the adventurous voyager. Now, 
it daily bears on its broad bosom a thousand 
richly freighted steamers, loaded down with 
the choicest products from every nation on 
the globe. Then, nothing was to be seen 
upon its rugged banks but the wild drapery 
which nature planted with her own hands, 
with here and there, perhaps, the rude and 
simple wigwam of the Indian. Now, hun- 
dreds of large cities, flourishing towns and 
growing villages dot either side of the river, 
along its entire navigable length. Such is 
the march of progress. He, who, a hundred 
years hence, shall write the history of this 
noble river, will leap a gap as wide as that 
which divides us from the days of Father 
Hennipen and La Salle. 



VOYAGE DOWN THE RIVER. 



The extraordinary length of the Missis- 
sippi, the large number of cities, towns and 
villages which adorn its banks, and the mul- 
tiplied objects of curious interest -which lie 



along its course, present to the tourist such a 
succession of panoramic novelties as perhaf)s 
no other locality in the world can equal. 
And, thanks to the improving spirit of the 



MISSISSIPPI STEAMERS. 



age, the traveller, in feasting upon the ex- 
quisite natural and artificial beauties which 
lie so profusely along a course of 2,000 miles 
ill extent, ma\' at the same time enjoy all the 
comforts, and partake of all the luxuries 
which are to be found in the first-class hotels 
of our finest cities. To be sure, the sleeping 
accommodations on board our river steamers 



are not so extensive in point of space, as one 
might desire ; but this want is more than 
compensated for, especially in the hot sum- 
mer time, by the plentiful supply of cool, 
fresh air, which invigorates, inspires and 
renovates the entire system, and, to the in- 
valid especially, is of more worth than the 
nostrums of the combined medical faculty. 



THE PASSENGER STEAMERS. 



"We would advise voyagers on the Missis- 
sippi, whether intent on business or pleasure, 
to take passage on United Slates mail boats, 
in preference to any other class of steamers. 
It is true, the fares on these boats are a 
trifle higher than on others, but, as an offset 
to this objection, they are generally faster in 
speed, more punctual in point of time of de- 
parture and arrival, more spacious, and, as a 
general rule, spread a better table. In this 
latter respect, it is but justice to say, that 



the gastronomic wants of passengers are very 
seldom curtailed on the Mississippi ; no mat- 
ter how low the fare, or how small or slow 
the boat. The frequent stoppages along the 
river enable the stewards to replenish their 
lai'ders at every meal, if they choose, with 
every variety of fish, flesh, fowl and fruit. 
Still, there are some differences in regard, 
both to quantity and quality, and our own 
experience decides in favour of the "mail" 
boats. 



MISSISSIPPI AND HUDSON STEAMERS. 



Usuallj' the boats which ply upon the 
western rivers are neither as large, nor as 
swift in speed, as those which plough the 
eastern waters. They are also very unlike 
in their external shape, as well as in their 
internal economy. The differences in form 
will be seen by comparing the cuts which 
follow, one being a representation of a Mis- 
sissippi, and the other of a Hudson River 
steamer, the latter as she is passing the Pali- 
sades on her way from Albany to New York. 

"We also present a beautiful engraving of 
the principal saloon in the steamer " Isaac 
Newton," one of the finest boats on the Hud- 
son. Northern and eastern steamers are 
constructed with a view to swiftness, and to 
the accommodations of large numbers of pas- 
sengers, while the western boats are made 
to carry heavy freights in addition to their 
passenger list, and for safety's sake could not, 
if tlie}- would, and would not, if they could, 
pursue their contintially changing course 
along their winding streams with a speed 
greater than eight or ten miles an hour. 



Notwithstanding the superior elegance and 
swiftness of northern and eastern steamers, 
we doubt if their passengers, on the whole, 
really enjoy themselves with half the zest 
and appetite that the voyagers on the less 
pretentious craft of the western waters do. 
The trips of the former are seldom of more 
than eight or ten hours' duration (if we ex- 
cept the lake boats) ; and passengers go on 
board, eat, drink, and sleep, if they can, and 
come on shore, without making acquaint- 
ances, or indulging in any thing like social 
intercourse — we speak of the rule, to which, 
of course, there are exceptions. On the 
western boats, however, the trips being from 
five to fifteen days in duration, the passen- 
gers soon form acquaintance with each 
other, and in a few hours after leaving port, 
everybody knows everybody, and a sjstera 
of social good fellowship is inaugurated, 
which is maintained during the whole trip, 
and, in some instances, is continued in after 
years. 



STEAMBOAT DISASTERS. 



We know that it is not a very agreeable 
recreation, for persons, especially if they be 



at all nervous or timid, to read of explosions, 
conflagrations, and other serious disasters. 




HUDSON niVEU STEAMER 




MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEAMER, 




V\.v>,vs^-t<.:=.^ 



STATE-ROOM SALOON OF THE "ISAAC NEWTON." 
9 



ST. PAUL AND ST. ANTHOXY S FALLS. 



vliich have occurred over the same route, 
and perhaps, under aj)parentl3' similar cir- 
cumstances tlirough which they are journey- 
inij; ; but, at the same time, we think that 
tlie actual dangers of any and every public 
thoroughfiire should be publicly known, as 
it is to this very knowledge we are indebted 
for the many improvements which, of late 
years, have been made for the safe convey- 
ance of passengers and property, both by 
railway and by steamer. It is an undeniable 
fact, that man\- of the disasters of former 
years on the western waters were caused by 
carelessness in the construction of steam- 
boilers, and Vty the foolish, and always dan- 
gerous, habit of racing. Although the num- 
ber of steamers which now ply upon the 
southern and western waters is vastly greater 
tliau twenty years ago, we doubt if half the 



number of explosions occur in a given lime 
at this day, that were chronicled at the pe- 
riod referred to. And why ? Simplj' be 
cause the public mind, outraged and aroused 
to action by repeated calamities, caused by 
palpable neglect or carelessness, compelled 
reform. We shall, therefore, offer no excuse 
for introducing into our pages, as we pro- 
gress on our voyage, brief accounts of some 
of the most serious steamboat disasters that 
have occurred on the Mississippi River during 
the last few years. If the narratives of pain 
and suffering harrow the feelings of our 
readers, we hope they will also create cor- 
responding feelings of resolute determina- 
tion to aid in completing the reform of those 
abuses which are the immediate causes of 
the evils spoken o£ 



OBJECT OF THIS BOOK. 



Tlie object of this book is to point out to 
the voyager such places of interest along 
his route as are worthy of note, from either 
historical associations or natural renown, 
and by this means to aid in photographing 
upon his memory a long succession of beau- 
tiful images which will, in after years, rise 
up before him in all their pristine force, and 
afford him many hours of pleasant reflection. 
As there are many places on the river, about 
which no particular interest attaches, we 
shall merely call such by name, and, per- 



haps, give their popnlation, distance, etc., 
as it is our object to speak only when we 
have something to say, and not to swell our 
book with a cumbrous assortment of words 
and titles, meaning but little in general, and 
nothing in particular. As we shall follow 
Nature, and make our trip down the river, 
from St. Paul's, Minnesota, the npward-houwdi 
voyager will be obliged to commence at the 
end of our book, in order to thread the 
course of our description. 



THE STAY AT ST. PAUL. 



Assuming, then, that the reader (with our- 
selves) has taken passage on a steamer at 
St. Paul's for a downward trip to New Or- 
leans, we will suppose we have just time 
enough to ride up to St. Anthony's Falls and 



back before the boat actually starts, as one 
who is at St. Paul's must by no means ne- 
glect a visit to one of the finest sights on th« 
Upper Mississippi, as the Falls are univer 
sally allowed to be. 



ST. ANTHOinr'S FALLS. 



These Falls, which are the first that occur 
in ascending the river, have a perpendicular 
descent of 18 feet, and are about 30 rods in 
widtli. By themselves, the Falls might not 
atiord a sigiit of very especial interest, but 
when taken in connection with surrounding 
scenes, they niateriallj- aid in forming a pic- 
ture of great beauty. On one side lies the 



town of St. Anthony, containing 3,000 or 
4,000 inhabitants; on the other is the pretty 
and picturesque Minneapolis, of about equal 
population — the two places being connected 
bj' a suspension bridge, a river view of 
which we present — while stretching away 
for miles, both up and down the river, are 
seen all the varieties of landscape for which 



10 



SUSPENSION BlilDGE AND MISSISSIPPI, AT MINNEAPOLIS. 




this latitude is famous. St. Anthony is about 
8 miles by land above St. Paul's, and, being 
built on a high plain, commands a fine view 



of the Falls, as well as of the surrounding 
country. 



MINNEHAHA FALLS. 



These are made classical by Longfellow, 
in his admirable poem of Hiawatha, and 
should not be forgotten by tourists. They 
are near Minneapolis, and not far from the 
river. A clear sparkling stream of " laugh- 
ing waters" conies rusliing along the prai- 



over the precipice, and is lost in a deep dell, 
the sides of which are covered with shrub- 
bery of luxurious growth. The rock over 
which the stream leaps has been worn into 
an arch, and one can pass to and fro under- 
neath, between the falls and the rock, with 



rie, until it suddenly takes a leap of 60 feet j little or no inconvenience. The recess be- 
ll 



THE FALLS OF MINNEHAHA. 




hind the falls extends back 50 feet, and, from 
that point, affords an extraordinary beautiful 
view of tlie tumbling waters, as the sun 
shines upon them. We give a correct cut of 
these beautiful Falls, and also annex a few 
descriptive verses from Longfellow's popular 
])oem : 

" Only once his pace he slackened, 
Only once he paused or halted — 
P.aused to purchase heads of arrows 
Of the ancient arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Where the Falls of Minnehaha 
Flash and gleam among the oak trees, 
Laugh and leap into the valley. 



12 



" There the ancient arrow-maker 
Makes his arrow-heads of sandstone, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 
Arrow-heads of Hint and jasper. 
Smoothed and sharpened at the edges. 
Hard and polished, keen and costly. 

" With him dwelt his dark-eyed daughter 
Wayward as the Minnehaha, 
With her moods of shade and sunshine ; 
Eyes that smiled and frowned alternate, 
Feet as rapid as the river, 
And as musical as laughter ; 
And he named her from the river — 
From the waterfall he named her 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water. 

" Was it here for heads of arrows. 



FORT SXELLING, ST. PAUL, ETC. 



Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper. 
That my Hiawatha halted 
In the land of the Dacotahs ? 

" Was it not to see the maiden. 
See the face of Laughing Water, 
Peeping from behind the curtain ; 
Hear the rustling of her garments 
From behind the waving curtain. 
As we see the Minnehaha 
Gleaming, glancing through the branches, 
As one hears the Laughing Water 
From behind its screen and branches ? 

FORT SNELLING.— This is an old United 



States military post, in which Government 
has erected extensive works for the defence 
of the north-western frontier from the In- 
dians. Its usfulness is now at an end for such 
purposes, as what few Indians are now in the 
State are inclined to peace and friendship. 
The fort is situated about two miles below 
the Falls. 

MENDOTA is a thriving town, lying op- 
posite Fort Snelling, and from its position 
must eventually command an extensive trade 
between the river and interior country. Its 
population is near 1,000. 



CITY OF ST. PAUL. 



Before embarking on our voyage down 
the river, it may be necessary to give a brief 
description of this youthful city, which is the 
capital of Minnesota, and at the head of 
steamboat navigation on the Mississippi — 
2,000 miles above New Orleans, and 725 
miles above St. Louis. It is on a plain 56 
feet above the river, which at this point 
flows in an easterly direction. In 1842 there 
was but one trading house at this point. In 
1847 the rude cabins of a few half-breeds 



marked the spot where now flourishes the 
great north-western emporium, with its tall 
spires and its beautiful array of elegant 
buildings. Now the city contains from 12,000 
to 15,000 inhabitants. Situated at the head 
of navigation, and surrounded by a fertile 
region of country, St. Paul must continue to 
increase in size and importance until it be- 
comes one of the finest cities on the river. 
On the next page we give a view of St. Paul, 
taken from the opposite shore. 



STARTING FROM ST. PAUL. 



DOWN THE RIVER.— Ourselves and 
baggage being safely bestowed on board, 
the steamer's bell gives its farewell peal, and 
our gallant bark turns its prow southward, 
and merrily pushes into the grand stream 
that is to bear it on its long, and, we hope, 
pleasant journey of 2,000 miles. The first 
place of note on our way is 

RED ROCK, Min., seven miles distant from 
St. Paul. This place was settled by a body 
of Methodists under the superintendence of 
Rev. Mr. Brunson, in 1837, who established 
a school at an expense of $30,000 for the 
purpose of educating the Indians ; but after 
a few years the mission was abandoned. 
The place derives its name from a large 
granite boulder which was painted red by 
the Indians, and called by them Wakoti, or 
Spirit Rock. 

HASTINGS, a small, unimportant place, 
lies 10 miles further down. 

VERMILLION RIVER, three miles be- 
low the last-named town. Tliis river enters 
the Mississippi. It takes its rise in Minne- 



13 



sota, and runs in a north-easterly direction 
in a line parallel with St. Peter's River. 

POINT DOUGLAS, Min., five miles below, 
is a pleasant post village, situated on a point 
of land formed by the junction of the St. 
Croix with the Mississippi River. It has one 
hotel, a steam mill, several stores, and has an 
excellent landing for steamboats. 

ST. CROIX RIVER rises in Wisconsin, 
near the west end of Lake Superior, and, 
flowing in a southerly direction, reaches the 
Mississippi at this point. Its extreme length 
is about 200 miles, and it is navigable for 
steamboats about 60 miles. It is 100 yards 
wide at its mouth. About one mile above 
its entrance into the Mississippi, an expansion 
of its shores forms St. Croix Lake, extending 
36 miles in length, and 3 or 4 miles in width. 
There are several beautiful falls towards the 
centre of this river, which runs through a 
pine country, and annuallj' brings down large 
quantities of lumber which are sliipped to 
ports below. 

PRESCOTT, just below Point Douglass, 



RED WING TO PRAIRIE DU CHIEN. 



and on the opposite shore, is a small post 
village in Wisconsin. Eighteen miles be- 
low is 

RED WING, on the Minnesota side, and 
situated on the upper extremity of Lake 
Pepin. 

LAKE PEPIN is formed bj' an expansion 
of the Mississippi, and is 25 miles long and 
4 miles wide. The water is here very clear 
and transparent, and the current quiet and 
gentle. On the eastern side of the lake is 
the celebrated 

MAIDEN'S ROCK, which rises perpen- 
dicularly 500 feet from the water. Tradition 
states that an Indian maiden, Mattakeo, or 
the strong-hearted, leaped from the summit 
of this acclivity in order to save herself from 
the hated embraces of a repulsive chief who 
had taken her pi-isoner after having slain 
many of her people. An accurate view of 
" Maiden's Rock" will be found on the page 
following, and likewise a sketch of a scene 
on the Mississippi, between Lake Pepin and 
St. Paul's. On our passage along the lake 
we pass the mouth of Rush River on the 
east and Cannon River on the west. 

KANZAS, a small village in Wisconsin ; 
and continuing on, comes the mouth of 

CHIPPEWA RIVER, called by the In- 
dians OJibheicay. This river, which is over 
200 miles long and 500 yards wide at its 
mouth, takes its rise in the northern part of 
Wisconsin, and, flowing in a south-westerly 
direction, enters the Mississippi at the foot of 
Lake Pepin, and 85 miles below St. PauL 
Its shores are lined with magnificent forests 
of pine, and its waters are navigable for 
about 70 or 80 miles. 

Leaving this river, we pass the small 
towns of 

WABASHA, Minn., 10 miles below, and 

FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis., 15 miles further 
on, and come to 

TREMPALEAU RIVER, a small stream 
which rises in Wisconsin, and pours into the 
Mississippi, 10 miles below Fountain Cit}'. 
Opposite its mouth is 

MINNESOTA CITY, capital of Winona 
County, Minn. This is a verj' pretty village, 
which was settled in 1652 by the "Western 
Farm and Village Association," and industry 
and economy have found their reward in the 
blooming fields which are observable from 
the banks of the river, deep into the interior. 



Passing the small town of Montoville, Wis., 
we come to 

MOUNTAIN ISLAND, which is a high, 
rocky island, whose estimated height is near 
500 feet from the level of the river. 

It is a very conspicuous and noted land- 
mark, wild and rougli and savage in its ap 
pearance, and is considered one of the most 
remarkable objects on the Upper Missis- 
sippi. 

BLACK RIVER, which rises in the cen 
tral part of Wisconsin, flows into the Missis 
sippi, 8 miles below Montoville. It is 200 
yards wide at its mouth, and maintains that 
width for about 50 miles, to the falls, which 
are at the head of navigation for small 
boats. 

Passing on 4 miles, we come to Ridncf 
Sun, Minn. ; and 2 miles to Brooklyn ; and 
other 2 miles brings us to 

LA CROSSE, Wis. This is a beautiful town, 
situated on La Crosse Prairie, in La Crofise 
Co., on La Crosse River — which certainly 
entitles it to a crown, if bearing an unusual 
number of cresses, be deserving of such high 
reward. It does a large lumber-trade, and 
contains about 1,200 inhabitants. A railroad 
now extends from La Crosse to the city of 
Milwaukee, three miles below. 

Hokah, or Root River, enters the Missis- 
sipp from Minnesota. It is about 130 miles 
long, and but little navigable. We next 
come to 

BROWNSVILLE, Minn., 5 miles below. 

RACOON RIVER, a small stream, flows 
into the Mississippi from Wisconsin, 5 miles 
below. 

BATTLE FIELD, Wis., 2 miles below. 

UPPER IOWA RIVER, Minn., a small 
stream, which, on entering the Mississippi, 
makes the dividing line between Iowa and 
Minnesota. 

LANSING, Iowa, 15 miles below. 

LYNXVILLE, Wis., 8 miles below. 

WEXFORD, Iowa, opposite Lynxville, and 
we come to 

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. This is a 
place of some importance, and one of the 
oldest towns in Wisconsin. It is built on a 
level prairie, 6 or 8 miles long, and 2 miles 
wide, inclosed on the east side by a succes- 
sion of rocky bluffs. It occupies the site ot 
an old Indian village, and tliere are some ex 
cellent hunting grounds still to be found in 



15 



PRAIRIE DU CHIEX TO DUBUQUE. 



the vicinity. Numerous mouncls are scat- 
tered over the neighbouring country — the 
only remains of an ancient people, whose 
history is unknown to us, and whose verj- 
existence would have been doubted, had 
they not, like the builders of the Pyi-amids, 
left these unmistakable evidences of their 
having once lived, moved and had a being 
upon this soil. This town is the terminus of 
the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, and 
is destined to become a place of large busi- 
ness. We give an engraving of an Indian 
mound, similar to those found near Prairie 
du Chien. 




INDIAN MOUND. 

Prairie du Chien is one of the connecting 
links in the chain of communication from 
Chicago and Milwaukee to St Paul, via rail 
from these cities, and thence per steamer to 
St. Paul, or down the river, as we are now 
proceeding. Passing Port Crawford, 1 mile 
below Prairie du Chien, we come to 

WISCOiN-SIX RIVER. This is a stream 
of some magnitude, being about 600 miles 
in length; 160 miles being navigable for 
steamers. At Portage City a canal connects 
the Wisconsin with Fox River, which enters 
Green Bay at Fort Howard, thus opening 
navigation from the Gulf of Mexico to the 
Northern lakes. At Portage City is still 
seen the remains of old Fort Winnebago, a 
place made famous in the annals of Indian 
warfare. 

CINCINXATI, Wis., 7 miles; A'ilro^, 
Iowa, opposite ; Clayton, Iowa, 2 miles, and 

MEXDOTA, Wis., 7 miles below, brings 
us to 



GUTTEXBURG, a thriving post village 

of Iowa. 40 miles above Dubuque. It has a | ore; but as the lead is found in g. 
good landing for steamboats, and has many abundance, it pays for the extra labour 

18 



valuable lead mines in its viciiiitj-, many of 
which are worked to advantage. 

CASSYILLE. Wis., 6 miles below, has 
also several lead mines in its vicinity, from 
which large quantities are annually shipped. 
TURKEY RIVER, 150 miles long, but 
unnavigable for steamers, enters the Missis- 
sippi, from Iowa, at this point. 

FRAXKFORD, Iowa, is a small village, at 
the mouth of Turkey River, and 

BUEXA VISTA, Iowa, 5 miles below, is 
of about the same size. 

POTOSI, Wis., 12 miles below, near the 
mouth of Grand River, is a flourishing town, 
of some note, containing near 4,000 
inhabitants, and having some valu- 
able lead mines in its vicinity. 

PERU, Iowa, 7 miles below : Sino- 
pee. Wis., 2 miles, ar\.A Jamestown, ^"\$., 
1 mile below, brings us to 

DUBUQUE, Iowa, 5 miles further 
on. This is the oldest settlement, and 
the largest city in the State. The his- 
tory of its site dates from 1774, when 
Julien Dubuque, arrived in its vicin- 
ity, and settled among the Sac and 
Fox Indians, near Prairie du Chien. 
In 1778, he received from the Indians 
a grant of land, containing lead mines, 
discovered by Peosta, wife of one of the chiefs. 
In 1796, the Governor of Louisiana acknowl- 
edged the gift, and granted Dubuque a large 
tract, embracing the site of Dubuque, which 
was called after its founder, who worked the 
lead mines until his death, in 1809. 

The Indians then took possession until 
their removal further west, in 1832. The 
lieirs of Dubuque claimed, and for a while 
retained the grant, but were forcibly ejected 
by Government in 1833. Disorder ruled for 
a long period, until Congress by a special act, 
authorized the sale of the contested land, and 
that consummated, quiet was restored, and 
the place began to rajiidly increase. 

In 1832, the permanent settlement of the 
place was commenced by Henry MeCrary, 
who built the first house on the Iowa side 
of the river, above Keokuk. It is remark- 
able that on the Illinois side, lead is found 
in the clay, by digging a few feet below the 
surface, while in Dubuque, the shafts have 
to be sunk one hundred feet to reach the 

reater 



DUBUQUE TO PRINCETON. 



Dubuque is one of the most active business 
places in the west, and is remarkable for the 
intelligence of its people. Education is 
justly considered of paramount importance. 
In 1856, the school system was re-organized, 
and two extensive school-houses erected, at 
a cost of $25,000 each. 

West of the city, the country is strikingly 
beautiful, and well watered. It is a rolling 
prairie, interspersed with groves of timber, 
while along the small streams, running from 
north to south, there is also plenty of tim- 
ber, and good water-power. Population 
about 16,000. 

We append to this notice of Dubuque, a 
sketch of the first house, built and occupied 
by the original settler. Houses of this de- 
scription are common throughout the west. 



■-^^"S^: 




Dubuque forms another of the favoured 
spots on the river which enjoj-s the great 
advantage of direct railroad communication 
with the cities on the shores of Lake Michi- 
gan, and from thence to the cities in the 
east, those on the seaboard, as well as with 
Canada, and being also one of the chief 
places for railroad travellers from the east, 
proceeding either up or down the river. 

DUNLEITH, III, lies opposite Dubuque, 
and is the terminus of the nortli-west branch 
of the Illinois Central Railroad. 

FEVRE, or Fever River, is a narrow, slug- 
gish stream, emptying into the Mississippi 
from Illinois, 15 miles below Dubuque. It is 
only navigable for steamboats as far up as 



GALENA, which is situated on both sides 
of the river, about 6 miles above its mouth, 
200 miles north-west of Springfield, and 180 
from Chicago. It is the metropolis of the 
great lead region of northern Illinois, and 
the depot for the agricultural products of a 
fine country around. Its trade extends to 
nearly all the towns on the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi Rivers. The houses are built upon 
streets, terraced one above the other, as they 
recede from the river, and present a novel 
and very pleasing appearance. The amount of 
lead shipped annually amounts to 50,000,000 
pounds. A large amount of copper is smelted 
here. Zinc and copper abound in the vi- 
cinity. Thousands of tons of zinc lie ne- 
o-lected on the surface, as the scarcity of 
coal will not sufficiently pay for smelting. 
A bank is located hei-e, 
and three papers are 
published. Population, 
in 1858, 12,000. 

MOSELLE, 111., is a 
small post village, and 
lies 7 miles south of 
Fevre River. 

BELLEVUE, Iowa, is 
nearly opposite Moselle. 
It is situated at one end 
of a beautiful valley, on 
a bank elevated 30 feet 
above high water mark, 
and has one of the finest 
landings on the river, 
formed by a gravelly 
beach, with a sufficient 
depth of water to ac- 
commodate the largest 
A fine farming district lies back 



steamers. 

of the town, and the shipping of immense 
quantities of produce down the river affords 
employment to its industrious people. Eight 
miles below, 

MAKOQUETA RIVER enters the Missis- 
sippi. Its length is about 100 miles, and 
furnishes a large amount of water power. 

We now pass a succession of small vil- 
lao-es, varying in population from 100 to 
2,000 persons, which we will simply name 
in the order in which they are reached, viz. : 
Portsmouth, III. ; Savannah, 111. ; Sabnla, 
Iowa ; Lyons, Iowa ; Fulton Citij, 111. ; Al 
barty. 111. ; Camnnche, Iowa ; Cordova, 111. ; 
Princeton, Iowa; Parkhurst, Iowa; Port 



19 



DAVENPORT TO MUSCATINE. 



Byron, 111. ; Le Claire, Iowa, and Hampton, 
III, when we reach 

DAVENPORT, Iowa, which is one of the 
most busy and thriving places on the upper 
Mississippi It is built at the foot of a bluff 
which rises graduallj- from the river, with 
a chain of rounded hills in the background. 
On another page, we give a view of the 
railroad bridge, which spans the Mississippi 
at this point. 

ROCK ISLAND CITY, just below Daven- 
port, and opposite it, is built upon an island 
on the Mississippi, of about 3 miles in extent. 
On the extreme southern point of the island, 
upon a rock 20 feet high, stands Fort Arm- 
strong, an old block-house occupied as a 
place of defence in the Black Hawk war. 
There is a recess in this rock, called Black 
Hawh^s Cave, in which it is said the stubborn 
chief often concealed himself. The waters 
of tlie Mississippi at this place are very 
rapid, and as the channel is covered with 
ledges of rock, the navigation at stages of 
low water is frequently obstructed. The 
country around is extremely rich and fertile, 
and the city being the southern terminus of 
the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, is 
the outlet of immense quantities of produce, 
which is sent off by river and rail to all 
parts of the country. Rock Island City is 
also distinguished for the number of its man- 
ufactures, and seems destined to become one 
of the most considerable towns in Illinois, in 
this respect. Population, 12,000. 

MOLINE, a thriving post-village in Illi- 
nois, opposite the head of Rock Island, is a 
place enjoying great water privileges from 
the rapids of the Mississippi. 

ROCK RIVER, something over 300 miles 
in length, flows into the Mississippi, near 
this point. It rises in Wisconsin, and thence 
flows into Illinois^ and through a rich and 
extensive valley, which, in time, must prove 
one of the richest in the western country. It 
is navigable for about 200 miles, and has a 
descent of about 380 feet from its source to 
its mouth. Some of the finest towns in Wis- 
consin and Illinois are situated upon its 
banks. The current is obstructed somewhat 
bj' rapids, but time, and the inevitable laws 
of progress, will remove these obstacles in 
due season. 

Leaving ROCK RIVER, we pass Buf- 
falo, Iowa, 5 miles below, and Andalusia, 



111., just opposite ; lovxi, 8 miles below, 
and Fairport, Iowa, 1 miles beyond, and 
come to 

MUSCATINE, Iowa, formerly called Bloom- 
ington. This beautiful city is situated on a 
high bluff, on a bend of the Mississippi, and 
commands a most superb view of the river 
and surrounding country. Previous to 1836, 
when it was first settled by the whites, it 
was an Indian trading post, known by the 
name of Manatteka. In consequence of the 
bend in the river, Muscatine is situated 
nearer the centre of the State than the other 
ports on the Mississippi, and therefore com- 
mands nearly all the trade flowing from the 
valleys of the Red Cedar and Iowa Rivers. 
It is a very prosperous place, and gives 
promise of great future advancement. Popu 
lation about 8,000. 

About 8 miles below Muscatine, on the 
15th of August, 1837, a terrible steamboat 
explosion occurred, causing the loss of 25 
lives, and the serious scalding and burning 
of several others of the passengers and crew. 
The steamer Dubuque, on her trip up the 
river, from St. Louis to Galena, was running 
at her usual speed, under a moderate pres- 
sure of steam, when the flue of the larboard 
boiler collapsed, throwing a torrent of scald- 
ing water and steam over the deck. The 
pilot immediately steered for the shore, and 
effected a landing. The after part of the 
boiler-deck, witli all the freight, and every 
article which had been deposited there, was 
blown off the boat and far awaj- into the 
water. Many of the deck passengers, and 
such of the crew as were in the vicinity of 
the explosion, wei'e killed outright, while 
others were dreadfully scalded by hot water 
and escaped steam. These latter unfortu- 
nates, escaping to the shore, were driven to 
frenzy with excruciating pain, and, uttering 
the most appalling shrieks, actually tore 
their clothing from their persons — in some 
instances bringing away the skin, and even 
the flesh, with th^m. After lingering for 
hours in intense agony, some of the suft'erers 
were relieved by death, while others, being 
cared for, and attended to b}' a number of 
kind physicians, who had been sent for from 
Muscatine, (then called Bloomington,) were 
fortunate enough to recover. It is a notice- 
able fact that none of the cabin passengers 
were killed, or seriously wounded. It was 



20 



MISSISSIPPI RAILROAD BRIDGE, IOWA. 




PORT LOUISA TO NAUVOO. 



supposed that the came of this terrible dis- 
aster was some defect in the material or 
workmanship of the boiler. 

PORT LOUISA, Iowa, is a small village, 
16 miles below; and 10 miles further down 
lies the pleasant and thriving town of 

KEW BOSTON, 111. This is a place of 
much activity in business, at which a large 
quantity of produce is bought, and shipped 
up and down the river. The adjacent coun- 
try is fertile, and rapidly improving in con- 
dition. 

IOWA EIVER enters the Mississippi at 
this point. It is one of the most important 
streams in the State, being near 300 miles 
in length, although navigable for only small 
boats for about 100 miles above its mouth. 

KEITHSBURG, HI., V miles; Huron, 
Iowa, 9 miles, and Oquawka, 111., 10 miles 
below, brings us to 

BURLINGTOJ!^, Iowa, 15 miles below the 
last-named place. This is a fine commercial 
city, formerly the capital of the State, and, 
in point of population, is second only to Du- 
buque. It is the terminus of the Burlington 
and Peoria, and of the Burlington and Mis- 
souri Railroads, and is connected with the 
interior by a plank road, extending fifty 
miles. Notwithstanding the change of the 
seat of government from this place to Iowa 
City, Burlington has continued to improve 
in size and importance. Being built both 
upon a level plain, and upon a high bluff 
which descends with a gradual slope to the 
water's edge, it has much the appearance of 
an amphitheatre. The summit of the bluff, 
which is 200 feet above the river, affords a 
v:ew of the surrounding country, which is 
beautiful in the extreme. 

SKUNK RIVER enters the Mississippi 
from Iowa, 9 miles below Burlington. It 
rises near the centre of the State, and flows 
through a very fertile farming country, and 
furnishes considerable water power. Its 
entire length is 250 miles, but is but little 
navigable. Seven miles below is Pontoo- 
sue, 111. ; and 5 miles below that is Ap- 
panoose, in same State. Three miles fur- 
ther is 

FORT MADISON, Iowa, which occupies 
the site of an old fortification, built in 1808, 
as a defence against the Indians, who, in 
1813, obliged the garrison to abandon and 
burn the fort. Tlie situation of the town, as 



22 



seen from the river, is very beautiful ; the 
ground rising with a gradual slope from th« 
river to the western portion of the town. 
The State Prison is located here. Two or 
three ferry boats ply constantly across the 
river, which is here about one mile wide. 
This town is somewhat noted for its manu- 
factures, which have progressed wonderfully 
within the few past years, and are not ex- 
celled by any in the State. Population 
about 4,000. 

NAUVOO, m., is about 8 miles below. 
The history of this city makes it one of the 
most remarkable in the Union. It was 
founded by the Mormons, under their apos- 
tle, Joe Smith, in 1840. The situation of the 
town is one of the most beautiful to be found 
on the river. The ground rises gradually 
from the water's edge, to an unusual lieight, 
presenting a smooth and regular outline, 
with a broad plain at the surface. As origi- 
nally laid out, it was 12 miles in circumfer- 
ence, the streets wide and straight, and 
crossing at right angles. The houses were 
small, plain, and of simple construction, with 
the exception of the " Temple," which was 
of magnificent proportions, and erected at an 
immense cost— estimated at half a million ot 
dollars. It was built of polished limestone, 
130 feet long, 88 feet wide, and 160 feet 
high, and calculated to comfortably hold a 
congregation of 3,000 persons. In the base- 
ment was a large stone basin, called the 
Baptistiy, or Brazen Sea, supported by 12 
eollossal oxen, and in this pool the faithful 
were baptized. The erection of this singu- 
lar, but magnificent structure, was completed 
by the male members of the Mormon Church, 
who either performed a certain amount of 
labor with their own hands, or else con- 
tributed a stipulated portion of their property 
to engage the labor of others. 

Smith, the originator and leader of this 
delusion, was finally, in 1844, with several 
sub-leaders, arrested and thrown into prison, 
on charges, which, had they been brought to 
trial, would have been difficult to prove. 
Soon after, a lawless mob attacked the prison, 
and shot Smith, without giving him even 
the form of a trial. His people, tired and 
wearied with persecuting and being perse- 
cuted, soon after removed from Nauvoo, and 
made their long and difficult journey to 
Utali, where they soon after built the cele- 




A SETTLER'S FIRST HOME. 




A RAFT DESCENDKG THE RIVER. 



23 




'HWif .,;,! 



NAUVOO TO SALT RIVER. 



brated Salt Lake City, where they still re- 
side under the guidance of the notorious 
Brigham Young. lu 1848, the great Tem- 
ple was fired by an incendiary, and reduced 
to complete ruin. Nauvoo, which, in the 
days of the Mormons, contained 15 or 16,000 
inhabitants, has now but about 2,000. 

A few years ago, a band of French social- 
ists, under M. Cabet, established themselves — 
about 400 in number — at Xauvoo, and built 
upon the site of the temple, having pur- 
chased the ground upon which it stood. 

MONTROSE, Iowa, is neaily opposite 
Nauvoo, and is a fine town, at the head of 
the Lower Rapids, situated on an elevated 
prairie, from which a fine view of the coun- 
try around is obtained. The inhabitants 
mostly find employment in "lightening" 
steamers over, the rapids in seasons of low 
water. A large number of Indian mounds 
are found in the neighborhood. 

Passing by Nashville, Iowa, 4 miles; and 
Montebello, 111., 6 miles below, we reach 

KEOKUK, Iowa, 205 miles above St. 
Louis, and 125 miles south of Iowa City. It 
is situated at the foot of the Lower Rapids, 
and is at the head of navigation for the 
larger class of steamboats, which, at certain 
stages of water, cannot get over the rapids. 
A line of fine steamers communicates daily 
between here and St, Louis. Over a thou- 
sand steamboats arrive and depart from tliis 
place annually. Keokuk is a very prosper- 
ous town, and must continue to improve, as 
it is, from its position, the natural outlet of 
the fertile valley of the Des Moines, which 
is the most populous part of the State, 



We now leave Iowa, and come to the 
edge of the State of Missouri ; the first town 
we pass belonging to that State being Alex- 
andria, situated at the mouth of Fox River. 
We next come to Des Moines City, Mo., 6 
miles below, and then to 

TULLY, Mo., 12 miles furtlier on; a 
flourishing town, of about 1200 inhabitants, 
doing a large business in shipping produce. 

LAGRANGE, Mo., 6 miles below, is a vil- 
lage of about the same size, and doing an 
equally flourishing business. 

QUINCY, III, 12 miles below, is finely 
situated, on a limestone bluff, 125 feet above 
the river, of which it commands an extensive 
view. The country in the vicinity is a rich, 
rolling prairie, and one of the most highly 
cultivated parts of the State. Quincy carries 
on an active trade by steamboats on the 
Mississippi. It has a railroad, reaching to 
Galesburgh, 100 miles distant, and thei-e 
connects with the Chicago and Burlington 
road to Chicago, 160 miles. Lines of stages 
also run from this city to Hannibal, Palmyra, 
St. Joseph's, etc. This city is one of the 
most thriving on the river, and is constantly 
increasing in trade, commerce and popula- 
tion. Its population, in 1840, was 2,UUU — 
in 1859, over 15,000. 

Passing Fabian's River, which passes into 
the Mississippi in two branches, neither of 
which is navigable, we come to Marion City, 
Mo., and then to Aston and Boonville, on the 
Illinois side. These are all small places, and 
used as shipping ports for the interior. 

HANNIBAL, Mo., 7 miles below Boone- 
ville, is a fine town, doing a large business 



Opposite Keokuk is Hamilton City, III, in the sale and shipiuent of pork, hemp, 



and 4 miles below is 

WARSAW, III, situated on a high blufT, 
near the site of old Fort Edward. Its po- 
sition is favorable for trade, and it already 
does an extensive business in importing and 
exporting, and is fast growing in population 
and wealth. Plank roads run from this 
place several miles, in various directions, 
towards the interior. Pop. about 5,000. 

DES MOINES RIVER enters the Missis- 
ippi, from Iowa, nearly opposite Warsaw. 
It commences in Minnesota, and runs a 
course of 400 miles, through an exceeding 
rich and fertile tract of country, including 
long ranges of prairie. It is navigable for 
nearly 200 miles. 



tobacco, etc., which are raised in the vicinity 
in great quantities. Coal and carboniferous 
limestone, an excellent building material, 
are found in great abundance in the adjoin- 
ing country-. Hannibal is the terminus of the 
Hannibal & St. Joseph's Railroad. Popula- 
tion of the town, about 5,0i)0. 

Passing Dayton, which is a small settle- 
ment, opposite Hannibal ; and Saverton, Mo., 
8 miles below, we come to 

SALT RIVER, 18 miles further on. This 
is the famous stream, up whose saline waters 
so many defeated politicians have " paddled 
their own canoes." This river is politically 
navigable only in seasons after general elec- 
tion, and we suppose that the defeated can- 



25 



SALT EIVEK TO MISSOURI KIVER, 



clidates select a retreat up these waters in 
order that they may keep until the next 
canvass. 

Leaving this forever embalmed stream, we 
pass a succession of small towns, dotting 
both sides of the river, the names of which 
we give in the natural order, viz. : 

Cincinnati, Mo., Louisiana, Mo., 2 miles ; 
Clarksville, Mo., 12 miles; Hamburgh, 111., 
15 miles; Gilead, 111, 9 miles; Deer Plain, 
Mo., 27 miles; and 6 miles below, come to 
the mouth of 

ILLINOIS RIVER, one of the finest 
rivers in tlie State from which it takes its 
name. The country bordering on its banks 
is rich and productive, and its commerce 
very large. It runs through many fine 
prairies, and, in other places, numerous high 
bluffs adorn its course. Steamboats ascend 
250 miles, and from thence the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal, 100 miles in length, effects 
a communication with the lakes, at Chi- 
cago. 

Going on, we pass Grafton, 111., Portage 
des Sioux, Mo., 7 miles below, and Randolph, 
III, 4 miles; and 7 miles further on, we 
come to 

ALTON, ni, which is situated at the south 
terminus of the Chicago, Alton and St Louis 
Railroad, 72 miles west by south of Spring- 
field, and 250 from Chicago. In commercial 
advantages, it is second to no town in the 
State, having the best landing for steamboats 
on the east side of the river. A flat rock, 
level with the water, afibrds an excellent 
natural wharf. Bituminous coal is found in 
great abundance, and timber is plentiful in 
ihe vicinity. The citj- is beautifully laid 
out, five squares being reserved for public 
purposes, and a large reservation at the 
landing-place. Market street is 150 feet 
wide, and other streets from 60 to 140. It 
has a city hall, 8 churches, a bank, Ij'ceum, 
mechanics' association, and an abundance of 
stores and warehouses. It has a railroad 
communication with Terre Haute, Indiana, 
and a regular steamboat connection with St. 
Louis. Population in 1850, 3,585; 1858, 
7,000. 

UPPER ALTON, two miles east, is situated 
on an elevated plain, and contains Shurtlelf 
College, a Baptist Institution, founded 1835. 

Leaving Alton, and passing down 5 miles, 
we come to 



MISSOURI RIVER. This magnificent 
stream rises in the Rocky Mountains, and, 
after running a tortuous course over 3,000 
miles, mingles its waters with the Mississippi 
at the point we have now reached. At the 
distance of 450 miles abcve the navigable 
waters of its head branches, are the " Gate* 
of the Rocky Mountains," a series of rocks, 
which, for the distance of about 6 miles, 
rise perpendicularly- from the margin of the 
river, to a height of 1,200 feet. The river is 
here compressed to the breadth of 150 yards,, 
and, for the first 3 miles there is but one 
spot, and that but a few yards in extent, on 
which a man can stand between the water 
and the perpendicular ascent to the moun- 
tain. 110 miles below commences the great 
" Falls," where the waters, in a distance of 
16 miles, descends in rapids, and falls 357 
feet. The highest fall has a perpendicular 
pitch of 98 feet ; the next, 47 ; the third, 26 • 
and the fourth, 19 feet. Next to Niagara, 
these fiills are the largest on the continent. 
The banks of the Missouri are dotted with 
villages and towns from its mouth up as 
higii as Council Bluffs, 600 miles from the 
Mississippi. Beyond this point, the wilder- 
ness prevails, consisting of vast and almost 
boundless plains of high grass, peopled only 
by savages, and immense herds of buffaloes, 
elk, deer, white bears, antelopes and moun- 
tain sheep. That the " Upper Missouri" — 
as this i-egion is named — is rich in agricul- 
tural and mineral wealth, is unquestionable ; 
and there is no doubt that the spirit of en- 
terprise and progress which has led to such 
mighty improvements in the East, will, ere 
many years have passed away, make this 
far-reaching wilderness to blossom and flour- 
ish like the rose. 

The rich valley of the Missouri, holds out 
such high promise for the future, that we 
cannot forbear transferring to our columns a 
detailed and graphic notice of its character- 
istics, whieli we extract from the " New 
World for 1859," a book of great merit, just 
published in New York, and containing 
much valuable information in reference to 
all the principal places in the United States. 
We also give an engraving, from the same 
book, representing a steamer on her way up 
the Missouri. Between the Missouri and St. 
Louis — 18 miles below — lie the small towns 
of Chippewa, Madison, Venice and Bremen. 



26 



KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 



THE VALLEY OF THE MISSOURL 



In- our description of the -western por- 
tion of the States, we have conchided for 
the present not to extend the limits of our 
information further west than that of the 
Missouri Valley — and although Nebraska 
and Kansas formed no part in the original 
plan, in the publication of the woi-k, yet, 
from the great emigration movement in that 
directi<in, of late, we have thought it advisa- 
ble to give the following details of that won- 
derful region, although not from om* own 
experience, not having as yet had an oppor- 
tunity of penetrating so far west. In some 
future edition of this work, we may be able 
to present such, from our own observation — 
meantime, we compile from what appears to 
us to be a reliable notice of this territory, 
which appeared in the Xorth American Re- 
vieie, for July, 1858, in a review, in that 
journal, of two works lately published on 
that part of the Union. 

After describing that portion of the coun- 
try west of Nebraska and Kansas, which is 
considered to be undesirable as a field for 
emigration, the wiiter asks: — 

" What effect will the important fact have 
on these J'oung territories themselves, as well 
as on the country at large? Nebraska and 
Kansas will, in that ease, be the shores at 
which will terminate a vast ocean desert, 
nearly 1000 miles in breadth. To the west 
of that lie California and Oregon, great pro- 
ducing, and yet not capable of becoming 
great manufacturing countries. 

" On the eastern coast of this great desert 
sea will lie Kansas and Nebraska, of all coun- 
tries the best suited for the sites of vast man- 
ufactories. Tliere run rivers whose descents, 
and whose ca])aciousness adapt them as well 
to turn the wheel as to irrigate the land. 
There, underdcath a soil which can support 
a millitm of workmen, are spread laj-ers of 
coal which will form the fuel for tens of 
thousands of square miles. There is the iron 
which is to form both the engine and the 
staple — the arm that strikes, as well as the 
material which is struck. Here, in fact, are 
the great furnishing warerooms, where the 
people of California will exchange their gold 
and quicksilver, and those of Oregon their 
fish and lumber, for the hardware, the cloths, 
and the furniture which the manufactories of 
the Missouri Valley will jiroduce. . . . Freight 
amounting to five dollars per 100 weight will 
be a sufficient protection to force the manu- 
factories of the Missouri Valley at once into 
energetic action." If manufactured there, 
heavj- goods will be able to he sold 20 per 
cent, less than those brought from the facto- 
ries in Connecticut or Pennsj-lvania. 

" When the time comes for the inland 
transpoj-tation of the goods of India and 
China from the Pacific to the Atlantic, it will 
be found that there is one route whose cheap- 



ness — at least, for heavy goods — will enable 
it to outbid all competitors." . . . . " The Co- 
lumbia River, while it forms one vast and 
navigable stream from the ocean to the centre 
of the Oregon plains, flares out at the latter 
point into three forks, each of which offers a 
pass, and the only passes here accessible 
through the Rocky Mountains. It is the Co- 
lumbia alone that holds the keys to the passes 
of the mountains, from which, on the eastern- 
most side, run the tributaries of the Platte. 
The forks of the Columbia will, therefore, 
have one side of them the only navigable 
waters leading to the Pacific, and on the 
other the only highways through whose 
mountain gates the locomotive can course to 
the Missouri Valley." That the Platte and 
the Kansas are incapable of navigation, we 
think is abundantly proved ; but it is equally 
clear that the valleys through which they 
run are the natural courses through which 
the canal must be opened and the railway- 
laid. Thus there will pour into the great 
depots which these frontier States will pre- 
sent, not only the products of Eastern and 
W'estern America, but those of China and 
India. 

The corn and wheat prairies of Nebraska, 
Iowa, and Kansas, stand on the banks of that 
great river (Missouri) which, with a volume, 
a force, and through an extent of territory no 
other stream can equal, shoots down the 
freight committed to it on the vast corn- 
consuming plains of the Southern Mississippi. 
. . . . Never was there such an avenue for 
such a freight. For 500 miles these magnifi- 
cent prairies slope upward from the river 
banks. For 1000 miles it dashes down, with 
a velocity which enables even the slower 
class of steamboats to make the descent in 
from 15 to 20 miles per hour. It is here that 
the Missouri has the great advantage over 
the Mississippi. The prairie country is scarce- 
ly reached bj- the latter river — so far as con- 
tinuous navigation is concerned The 

navigation of the Missouri, on the other hand, 
continues nearly 1000 miles bej'ond where 
that of the Mississippi stops It is on ac- 
count of the cheapness and rapidity which 
transportation in such a channel gives that 
we think the market of the gulf country will 
be supplied from the valley of the Missouri — 
not from that of the Mississippi. 

The Extent axd Ch.\racteu of tue Soil. — 
"The bottom lands, of which the base of this 
seam (the Missouri) is composed, form a plain 
extending from 5 to 25 miles in breadth, and 
accompanying the river through nearly its 
whole course." The soil is of a very shifting 
nature, and the course of the river very cir- 
cuitous. " It doubles and curves, for instance, 
to such an extent around a line of 100 miles, 
between Leavenworth and Nebraska City, as 
to make that 100 miles into 200. What is 



27 



THE VALLEY OF THE MISSOURI. 




U.?i'v«<^-'iVi 



STEAMING UP THE RIVER MISSOURI. 



popular]}' called the ' western bank,' is, hy 
turns, the soutliern and the eastern." For 
farming purposes, therefore, the lands of that 
nature are very uncertain and precarious. 

In its course, however, it leaves, on the 
one side or the other, a rich bottom, wliieh, 
for immediate productiveness, has probably 
no superior in t!ie world. " To this are a<ld- 
ed uniform belts of forest trees, interposing 
themselves between thcbottom and the l^luffs, 
which, along the States of Iowa and Missouri, 
and the opposite shores, develop themselves 
ill great beauty. These trees, in connection 
with the stone with which the Iduffs are often 
filled, give building materials to the settler in 
the richest abundance. 

In Nebraska, the fertile bottom lands on 
the Missouri River begin near the mouth of 
the A'ermilion River, on the 97th meridian, 
about 50 miles from Sioux City, and about 
1000 miles on the river-course from the Mis- 
sissippi. The trees on the river bottoms arc 
immense anil lu.xuriant. West of Sioux City, 
the bottom lands become narrow and irregu- 
lar, and give only an uncertain prospect of 
support. The soil on the table prairie lands, 
wliieh lie back from the bluffs, is not suscep- 
tible of much cultivation — degenerating into 
a eohl and desolate moor. The exception to 
tliis is a patch, 60 miles above the Big Sioux, 
at the mouth of the Eau-qui-Ci>urt, whicli 
there runs into the Jlissouri. No point be- 
vond the Vemilion can be relied on to raise 



corn. 
TiiE Platte River Yalley.- 



the Platte is sodded with firm, and yet nutri- 
tious grass, whicli affords a road for wagons, 
and food for the oxen or mules by which the 
wagons are drawn. Along this great high- 
way, the emigration from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific will pass. 

In the bottom lands of the Platte, cotton- 
wood of excellent quality is to be found ; and 
above and around the forks, cedar in consid- 
erable quantitj- is to be seen. 

Tlie width of the Platte is, generally, one 
mile ; and, when full, is six feet deep, but 
rarely is so: consecjuentlj-, is considered of 
no use for navigation purposes. 

Tlie arable prairies that arise from the 
blnfl's by wliieh the Platte is hemmed, do not 
f[)read to any considerable extent after the 
first 150 miles of its course are ]iasscd. 

The region south of the I'latte presents a 
much wider sweep for agricultui-al enterprise. 
Tliere, a climate not yet infected with tlie 
j)arehing heat of the low country, is united 
with a soil of eminent frnitfulness; and. as 
the arable lands begin to widen, they disclose 
one of the loveliest regions in tlie world. 
The arable lands extend from 150 to 200 
miles from the river banks. 

The Composition axd PnonrcnvENESS of the 
Soil. — ^Tlie general character of the bottom 
lands — not only of tlie Missouri, but of the 
Kansas, the Yellowstone, and the Platte — is 
of san<l and clay, richly impregnated and 
saturated witli carbon, and with the vast 
I quantities of decayed vegetalde matter which 
The valley of I tlie rivers are constantly precipitating. 



23 



CLIMATE OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 



Kot unusually, Indian corn to the amount 
of 150 bushels to the acre are produced, with 
scarcely any more preparation than the ordi- 
nary turning over, which is easily done by 
the plough. From the river basin, rise ter- 
races, or subsidiarj' bottom, at an average of 
50 feet from the river level, and sloping and 
sweeping away till they reach, sometimes, the 
prairies themselves. 

For permanency, depth, richness, and ex- 
tent, the prairie soil can find nothing in the 
world, to say the least, to excel it — many 
parties declaring that there is nothing to 
equal it. 

Unlike the bottom lands, which are soft 
and pliable, the prairie lands of the Missouri 
are tough and tenacious. In Nebraska and 
Kansas, as many as six or eight yoke of oxen 
are employed at a single plough in breaking 
the ground for the first time. When once 
upturned, however, the sod rots in a single 
summer, after which it may be ploughed by 
a single yoke. Indian corn and potatoes 
grow upon it after the first ploughing ; 
wheat not until after the second. 

The present appearances of the prairies of 
the Missouri show clear evidence of having, 
some centuries ago, been under cultivation, 
the fields, etc., being clearly traced. They 
are found in the best- watered and richest sec- 
tions, and extend from one to three hundred 
acres in area. 

Lumber. — In respect to forests, south-east- 
ern Nebraska and Eastern Kansas have a 
great advantage over Illinois and Iowa. In 
the latter Slates we may travel for miles with- 
out seeing a single tree within sight. In the 
central valley of the Missouri, the cotton- 
wood, willow, and poplar spread them- 
selves in great abundance and beauty along 
the bottom lands, and on the blutfs are found 
the oak, elm, cedar, and the black walnut, 
thus providing abundant material on the spot 
for building and fencing. 

Climate. — Between the Missouri Valley 
and the same range of latitude towards the 
east, the advantages, so far as evenness of 
temperature is concerned, are with the latter. 
Both in Kansas and Nebraska the thermom- 
eter ranges from 15 degrees higher in sum- 
mer, and 15 degrees lower in winter, than in 
Virginia or Pennsylvania. It is not uncom- 
mon for the mercury to sink to 30 degrees 
below zero in the one season, and to keep 
steady in the other, even as far north as 



Omaha City, at 110. It is an error to seek 
the causes of these extremes in the as yet un- 
settled condition of the country. They result 
from the fact, that as we recede further from 
the sea-coast, both heat and cold become, in 
their degree, greater, as can be explained on 
philosophic grounds. 

Two features, however, tend greatly to 
soften these extremes. The winter is relieved 
by the crisp dryness of the air, as compared 
with the piercing sharpness of the Atlantic 
seaboard, or the raw, damp, cold atmosphere 
of Great Britain. 

The Breezes on the Prairies. — The sum- 
mer — to those who can take refuge in the 
shade — has nearly all its terrors removed by 
the cool and powerful breezes by which the 
praii'ies are incessantly swept. 

It is in these breezes, in fact, that consists 
one of the main charms of prairie life. In 
their uniformity, their bracing purity, their 
vigour, they rival those of the sea. They are 
greatly preferable, in these respects, to those 
that traverse the eastern Alleghany slopes. 
There, the wind is fractured into puffs, or slit 
into threads by the forests, gorges, mountain 
crags, and ravines, through which it passes. 
But the breezes of the prairies pass onward 
in one grand and unbroken sheet. They 
blow with the evenness and continuity of the 
eastern trade winds, which may always be 
relied on, and in summer, at least, is as far 
from sinking at one time into a calm, as from 
rising into a hurricane. In winter the wind 
then covers the prairies with a cold and 
heavy weight, whose very uniformity aggra- 
vates its severity. But in the summer, the 
delicious coolness and the unfailing regular- 
ity of the prairie winds are blessings to which 
all travellers will bear a grateful testimony. 

In connection with this subject, we quote 
from a writer in Colburn's New Monthly Mag- 
azine for Jul}', 1858, who, on an excursion to 
the " Great West," and close to the Missouri, 
says: — 

" The west of America must be a healthy 
country, except where the land is low or near 
sluggish mud-banked rivers, for there inter- 
mittent fevers prevail as well as elsewhere. 
There seemed in the midst of the excessive 
heat, a power of exertion, a springiness, not 
at all like the faint, relaxing sensation of a 
very hot English summer's day. I speak of 
the dry prairies of the west The air was 
always clear, drj^, exhilarating beyond idea." 



29 



PILOT KNOB IRON MOUNTAIN, MISSOURI. 

About eighty-six miles south--west from the citj- of St. Louis, and at the termination of 
the St. Louis and L-on Mountain Railroad, is situated one of the most imposing mineralogi- 
cal objects of interest which we can possibly present; affording, as it does, a gigantic spe- 
cimen of the mineral wealth of the State of Missouri. We refer to the iron mountain, 
known by the name of Pilot Knob — an accurate representation of which we give on an- 
other page. 

lu St. Francois County, Missouri, on the same line of railroad, are situated two mountains 
of iron ore — the smallest one, a few miles from the other, is known as " The Iron Moun- 
tain," but which title belongs more properly to its much larger mountain neighbour, " Pilot 
Knob." 

Pilot Knob Mountain is 580 feet high, and as the pedestrian makes its ascent he will find 
little else than the brushwood with which it is covered, and masses of iron stone lying 
about or cropping out of the ground, until he reaches the summit, which is one bare solid 
mass of iron ore, forming, as it were, a crowning diamond set in the apex of this great 
mountain of wealth. The ascent of the mountain is easy. 

To give an exact idea of the quantity of iron ore iu Pilot Knob is simplj- impossible ; suf- 
fice it to say that it is considered as sufficient to supply the wants of the whole world for 
generations to come. The qualittf of the ore is pronounced superior to that of Xorway and 
bweden, and contains from 60, and in some cases 90 per cent, of pure metal. Tiie ore does 
not require much digging foi", further than quan-j-ing and blasting it out of the face of the 
mountain, which is done near its top. There, the miners will be seen filling a railroad ear 
with the iron stone. When one ear is filled it is jilaeed at the top of the incline, Aviih an 
iron rope attached, and which is wound round a large wooden drum ; and thus fixed, is 
placed on the incline, when it proceeds down the [)lane with its heavy cargo at a rapid rate, 
till it reaches tlie bottom and runs on to a stage, where the contents are emptied on a heap 
of iron stone and charcoal mixed together, ready to undergo " roasting" — being the first 
process of preparing the ore for the blast furnace. 

Wliilst the loaded car is being attached at the top and sent down the incline bj- its own 
weight, an empty car is attached to another iron rope at the foot of the mountain, which 
winds round the same drum at the top, which is drawn up the incline at the same time by 
tlie weight and impetus of the, downward car, thereby saving all expense for any other 
power for drawing the cars up and down the mountain side. ' 

The railroad consists of three " metals," excepting at the point where the cars in their 
progress up and down pass each other in their rapid journey. There four rails are laid to 
allow each car to pass clear of the other. 

From the top of the mountain a good, although by no means very extensive, view of the 
surrounding country is to be had, as it is one series of hills and valleys as far as the eye 
can see. At the foot of the mountain reposes the future " Pilot Knob City" with its fur- 
naces at work. In a valley towards the south is to be seen the thriving village of Ironton, 
of twelve or eighteen months' standing, whilst a mile further on is the prettily situated vil- 
lage of Arcadia ; both of which villages are allowed to be " pretty smart places." To the 
west rises the highest mountain of the district, known as Sheppar'd Mountain, also of min- 
eral richness, with its ore possessing the peculiar property of being both negative and posi- 
tive in its magnetic character. 

The iron, when manufactured into " pig," is sent to St. Louis. The mountain is owned 
by a company, of whom Col. L. Y. Bogy is a member, who is also President of the Iron 
Mountain Railroad, and who lias onr thanks for his polite attention to us when on our visit 
there. The curious in such matters, resident in Great Britain, may inspect specimens of 
iron ore, picked from tlie top of Pilot Knob, by calling on Mr. Bailliere, publisher of this 
work, 219 Regent street, London. 

The tourist, when at St. Louis, intending to proceed to this wonderful natural specimen 
af mineral wealth, takes the Iron Mountain Railroad from St. Louis, (fare $?,,) which pro- 
ceeds for several miles along the western shore of the Mississippi, when some excellent 
views of the mighty " Father of Waters" arc to be had. The country, for the most part 
along this line of road, consists of a rougli, rocky surface, with patches of good land in the 
river bottoms, and on some of the liigher portions of the country. 

Within a few miles of the Iron Mountain the country becomes very hilly, with the hills 
wooded to their summits. 

About half way an excellent dining-saloon is situated, at Victoria Station, which is situ- 
ated in the centre of a wood, on a rising ground, but which ere long is expected to be 
dotted over with the summer villas of the St. Louis manufacturers and mercliants. 

About six miles from Pilot Knob is Iron Mountain Station, from which will he seen the 
Iron :Monntain witli its furnace at work. Shortly after leaving wliich the traveller will be 
landed almost at the base of Pilot Knob Mountain, surrounded by numerous frame houses, 
stores, and a hotel, forming the nucleus of the future Pilot Knob City. 

30 



ST. LOUIS. 



CITY OF ST. LOUIS. 

On the arrival of the traveller at this city — from either the North or South bj' steamer on 
the Mississippi, or as he alights at the railroad depot on the Illinois side of the river from 
the east — his attention will at once be arrested, and his surprise excited, by the 
immense array of steamers which lie so closely packed together at the levee (or Front 
street) of the city, and extending there for some miles; forming, beyond question, the 
moet magnificent and extensive mercantile steam marine which is to be seen at one time at 
any port in this or any other country — at once impressing the mind with the magnitude 
of that commerce which supports and employs them, a;t a far inland river port in the West- 
ern States of America. 

The first impression of the stranger on visiting St. Louis, therefore, is, that it must be a 
city of great commercial importance ; and on passing along its busy, crowded and, in many 
places, filthy and badly-paved streets, that impression is strengthened and confirmed. 

The geograpliical and other natural advantages which St. Louis possesses, renders it a 
focus for commerce unsurpassed by anj'^ other city in the countrj\ 

As may be well known, the city is situated on the great highway of the Mississippi, be- 
tween two oceans ; it is the centre of the finest agricultural sections of the country, and the 
receiving and distributing point for the manufactures and produce which are carried on 
the waters of the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, Tennessee, Wabash and other rivers. 
Besides these, the immense railroad arteries which now traverse the States of Ohio, In- 
diana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri, centre in St Louis, and have contributed 
largely to the progress and prosperity of the city ; and the last, but greatest achievement 
accomplished, in that respect, is the opening of the great overland mail route from St. 
Louis to San Francisco — a distance of upwards of 3,000 miles, occupying 25 days — the 
Rocky ilountains and dreary wastes no longer forming insurmountable obstacles to Ameri- 
can enterprise. 

From what we have already stated, it will be inferred that the commerce of St. Louis is 
immense — the chief articles being groceries, tobacco, whisk}-, dr\- goods and hardware. 
The stores of the dealers in those articles are very numerous and large; and in Main, 
Second and Third streets, where such are situated, a degree of bustle and business activity 
may be seen not exceeded in the streets of any Eastern citj'. As connected with the com- 
merce of the city, we may mention, that in the single article of sugar, St. Louis imported 
more than that imported by all the cities on the eastern seaboard, put together, of such 
native-grown sugars as passed through the Custom House at New Orleans. 

The manufactni-ing establishments of St. Louis consist of numerous flouring mills, foun- 
dries and machine-shops, sugar refineries and sundry others ; but, when taken in the aggre- 
gate, the manufactures of St. Louis are not so numerous as the size and commercial im- 
portance of the city would indicate, and, strange to say, in one iron manufacturing 
establishment which we visited — owned by one of the most enterprising firms — we found 
that the verj* iron used there in the manufacture of their goods had been brought 340 
miles — from the " Queen City of the West," Cincinnati — although, not 100 miles from St. 
Louis, there is iron ore more than sufficient to supply the whole world for generations to 
come. In that establishment, we saw iron bolts and nuts being made by machinery, and 
which, by the way, are now shipped from there to engineering establishments in Great 
Britain, as well as other parts of Europe. 

An active competition 5° now in operation, between Cincinnati and St. Louis, for the 
commerce of the Western and Southern States ; and merchants from the West, South and 
Northwest, have now tlie choice of the markets of both these cities, as well as anj' induce- 
ments which may be held out to them by houses in the Eastern cities on the seaboard, the 
merchants there being naturally anxious to be brought in direct contact with all trust- 

32 



ST. LOUIS. 

worthy men, however far off such may reside. This applies, of course, nioi-e particularly 
to the great staple articles connected witli dry goods, hardware, and other descriptions of 
goods which are not manufactured, or wliich cannot be supplied so advantageously in the 
"West. It behoves, therefore, the merchants — but more particularly the manufacturers of 
St. Louis — to look to their laurels, and not rest too self-satisfied upon what they have done, 
if they would raise the character of their city, by rendering its manufacturing, somewhat 
commensurate with the magnitude of its commercial operations. 

During the late commercial panic, St. Louis suffered probably less than any other city 
which can be named ; and, although several suspensions of parties took place during the 
crisis, the most of these have paid up, in full, and resumed business as before. The cau- 
tion of the merchants on the outburst of the storm, the large amount of healthy business 
done from St. Louis to the Southern States, which were little afifected by the panic, con- 
tributed largely towards the lucky circumstance just mentioned ; so that, looking into the 
future, St. Louis appears to us to have a glorious prospect before it A large influx of 
emigration is now, and has been, for some time past, flowing into Missouri from the South 
and East, and even from Illinois and other more northerly States. When the true 
character of the climate, and correct information regarding the character of the State for 
agricultural purposes becomes known — looking at what has been done in the manufacture 
of Missouri wines, and the undeniable fact of immense tracts of the State being well 
adapted for the cultivation of the grape — and as the inexhaustible mineral resources are 
developed — the future of the city of St. Louis, as the parent city of the State, must partici- 
pate largely in such increasing advantages, and render its progress and future pi"osperity — 
although it has been great — greater than ever it was before. 

The levee, where all the steamers are moored, presents a most animated appearance 
from early in the morning until dusk. On the broad incline towards the river, which 
extends for miles, it may be seen covered with thousands of packages of merchandise of 
every description — sugar, molasses and flour forming the chief items. Along the side of 
the levee run the stores of the commission, forwarding, import and export merchants, 
whilst opposite to them lies the white-painted river steamboats, presenting a perfect 
forest of chimneys — each steamer having two — along the line. Many of these steamboats, 
for comfort and speed, are not excelled by any river boats in America, although, in general, 
they are much smaller than the large passenger boats which ply on the lakes, or East 
and North Rivers at New York. There is also a great difference in the punctuality of the 
former's sailing at the advertised hour ; and in that respect the Mississippi boats, we 
should suppose, would do well to study more the convenience of those who proceed by 
them than they do — the advertised hour of 12 noon generally meaning 4 p. m., or even 12 
noon of the next day. 

Fourth street is the principal street for retail business, at the north end of which are 
situated some very handsome newly-erected stores. 

The public institutions and buildings of St. Louis consist chiefly of the Court House, 
corner of Chestnut and Fourth streets, now approaching completion, the College of the 
Medical Department of the University, the Mercantile Library and Reading-room, and the 
Central High School. Notices, together with illustrations of these buildings, will be found 
elsewhere in this work. Besides these, may be named the new Custom House, the Uni- 
versity of St. Louis, O'Fallon Institute, Wynian's Hall and Museum, in addition to which 
the city abounds with charitable and benevolent institutions, and several handsome 
churches. 

The principal hotels will be found enumerated in our list of hotels ^ven elsewhere. 

Amongst the various educational institutions in St, Louis, stands pre-eminent the St 
Louis University ; and, to give an idea of its extent, we give the annexed illustration of one 
of its departments, known by the title given, and which forms one of the medical col- 
leges of the city, established chiefly through the instrumentality of Dr. C. A. Pope, of Sf 
Louis, backed by the munificence of J. 0. Fallon, Esq., who caused the above edifice to be 
built, at an expense to him of $80,000, and was presented by him to the Faculty of Medi- 



ST. LOUIS. 




MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY. 

cine, under trusteeship forever. It is a handsome brick building, 130 feet long, 100 feet 
deep and 75 feet high. The museum arrangements and instruments (jiiginally cost $30,000, 
since which large additions have been made ; and it may be said, that it now possesses in 
its museums one of the best collections extant of rare and valuable specimens connected 
with the sciences of medicine, natural history, mineralogy, geology, botany, etc., which 
must prove of incalculable value to the students, for whose more immediate benefit and 
instruction it has been established. 





THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY, ST. LOUIS. 

One of the most pleasing features connected with a large city is, the existence of a 
library and reading-room, which the young men of the city can frequent, after business 

U 



ST. LOUIS. 

hours ; and there get " posted up " in the news of the day, enjoy an hour or two's com- 
pany with some favorite author, and that in a magnificent room, surrounded by speci- 
mens of the genius of the sculptor and painter, with the advantage of having recourse 
to a most excellent library for reading at home. In this respect, the City of St. Louis 
is not behind any of her sister cities in the United States. The view prefixed represents 
the building apjiropriated for such a purpose, (and known as the Mercantile Library,) as 
■well as providing in the same building large halls for lectures, concerts, etc. The reading- 
room, which is free to strangers, is fitted up with comfortable reading-desks, and is plen- 
tifully supplied with newspapers and magazines, both American and European. The build- 
ing is plain but substantial, 105 feet front, 12'7 feet deep, 90 feet high, and erected at a 
cost of $140,000 (£28,000 sterling). Belongs to a joint stock companj-. 

The O'Fallon Institute (named after J. O'Fallon, Esq., one of the largest real estate 
owners in St. Louis) is an institution of a kindred character to that of the Mercantile 
Library, already noticed, with this difference, that the Mercantile Librarj' is open onlj' to 
young men engaged in mercantile pursuits, whilst the O'Fallon Institute forms the 
Mechanics' Institution of the citj- — with its reading-room, library and museum thrown 
open to all, of whatever trade or profession — where the young workman can, for a 
mere trifle a year, enjoy all the advantages of such an institution, including the attend- 
ance at lectures, by the best men, on scientific and generally interesting and important 
subjects. 

The institution was started exclusively, and is supported, partlj'', by voluntary subscrip- 
tions, including very handsome money donations from some of the citizens, and a grant of 
land from the liberal gentleman whose name the institution bears. The O'Fallon Institute 
is a noble institution, devoted to a noble purpose. Strangers are made most welcome, by 
its obliging and communicative superintendent. 




THE COURT HOUSE, ST. LOUIS. 



Tlie Court House is the largest public building in St. Louis ; and, being situated in a large 
open square on Chestnut and Fourth streets, its large and fine proportions are seen to great 
advantage. Several years have been occupied in altering and completing it, at a cost of 
several thousands of dollars. From its dome, a magnificent view of the city, river and 
surrounding country is to be had, 



ST. LOUIS. 



The accompanying sketch represents one of the most complete school-houses in the United 
States. It has been built combining all the improvements connected with the best school- 
houses in Boston, New York and 
Cincinnati, and at present stands 
as a model school-house for the 
country at large. It is 3 stories 
high, 106 feet long, 84 feet wide, 
and 86 feet high to the apex fo 
the roof, with octagonal towers, 
flanking each corner, 102 feet 
high. The first and second 
stories are each divided into 4 
rooms, capable of accommoda- 
ting 10 scholars in each, with 
the third story suited for 600 
making, in all, accommodation 
for 880 scholars. The interior 
is fitted up with admirable 
judgment, both as regards see- 
ing, hearing, light and ventila- 
tion; with wardrobes, desks for 
masters and pupils, reception-rooms, retiring-rooms, committee-rooms, and all the appliances 
of a school-house, apparently impossible to improve upon. The pupils who attend this 
school are those who have distinguished themselves at the primary and intermediate 
schools, and whose parents are desirous of their acquiring knowledge in the higher 
branches of education. The establishment of this school reflects great credit upon^the 
citizens of St. Louis, and upon Mr. Rumbold, its architect Cost upwards of $45 000 
(£9,000 sterling). 

36 




ST. LOUIS HIGH SCHOOL. 



DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI. 



DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI. 



The folio-wing poem, descriptive of a voyage down the Mississippi in the wintry month 
of February, 1858, is from the pen of the accomplished Scottish author and poet, Dr. Chas. 
Maokay, written at New Orleans, after his arrival there from St. Louis ; and which poem 
formed the greater portion of one of his interesting letters, entitled "Transatlantic 
Sketches," which appeared in the " Illustrated London News :" 



'TwAS a wintry morning, as the clock struck ten, 
That we left St. Louis, two dejected men ; — 
Gazing on the river, thick with yellow mud, 
And dreaming of disaster, fire, and fog, and flood ; — 
Of boilers ever bursting, of snags that break the wheel. 
And sawyers ripping steamboats, through all their 

length of keel ; — 
Yet, on shipboard stepping, we dismissed our fears, 
And beheld through sunlight, in the upper spheres, 
Little cherubs, waving high their golden wings, 
Guarding us from evil and its hidden springs ; 
So on Heaven reliant, thinking of our weans. 
Thinking of our true-loves, we sailed for New Or- 
leans ; — 
Southward, ever southward, in our gallant ship, 
Floating, steaming, panting, do^cn the JUississip. 

Oh the hapless river ! in its early run 
Clear as molten crystal, sparkling in the sun ; 
Ere the fierce Missouri rolls its troublous tide 
To pollute the beauty of his injured bride ; 
Like a bad companion poisoning a life. 
With a vile example and incessant strife, 
So the Mississippi, lucent to the brim. 
Wedded to Missouri, takes her hue from him ; 
And is pure no longer, but with sullen haste 
Journeys to the ocean a gladness gone to waste ; — 
Thus our idle fancies shaped themselves that day. 
Mid the bluffs and headlands, and the islets grey. 
Southward, ever southward, in our creaking ship. 
Steaming through the ice-drifts, down the Mis»is- 
sip. 

In our wake there followed, white as flakes of snow, 
Seven adventurous seagulls, floating to and fro, 
Diving for the bounty of the bread we threw, 
Dipping, curving, swerving— fishing as they flew ;— 
And in deep mid-current, throned upon a snag. 
Far away — a rover-^from his native crag, 
Sat a stately eagle, Jove's imperial bird, 
Heedless of our presence, though he saw and heard ; 
Looking so contemptuous, that human nature sighed 
For a loaded rifle to slay him for his pride ; — 
But superb, defiant ; slowly, at his ease. 
Spreading his wide pinions he vanished on the breeze 
Southward, flying southward, far beyond our ship. 
Floating, creaking, panting, down the Mi«»is»ip. 

In a blaze of glory shone the sun that day ; 

In a blaze of beauty, fresh as flowery May, 

A maid from Alabama came tripping on our deck — 

Bright as heaven above us ; — pure without a speck, 



37 



Singing songs tiU twilight freely as the lark 
That for inner gladness sings, though none may hark, 
Songs of young affection, mournful songs of home, 
Songs of happy sadness, when the fancies roam 
From th' oppressive Real to the fairy Far 
Shining through the Future, silvery as a star ; — 
And the Sun departed in his crimson robe. 
Leaving Sleep, his viceroy, to refresh the globe ; 
Thus we travelled southward in our gallant ship, 
Floating, drifting, drea/ming, down the Jtfisttissip. 

Brightly rose the morning o'er the straggling town 
Where the broad Ohio pours its waters down 
To the Mississippi, rolling as before, 
Seeming none the wider for increase of store ; 
And they said, " These houses scattered on the strand 
Take their name from Cairo, in the Eastern land. 
And shall be a city at some future day, 
Mightier than Cairo, dead and passed away." 
And we thought it might be, as we gazed awhile ; — 
And we thought it might not, ere we passed a mile— 
And our paddles paddled through the turbid stream 
As we floated downwards in a golden dream ; 
Southward, ever southward, in our panting ship, 
Idling, dawdling, loafing down the Missinsip. 

Sometimes in Missouri we delayed an hour, 
Taking in a cargo— butter, corn and flour ; 
Sometimes in Kentucky shipped a pile of logs, 
Sometimes sheep or turkeys, once a drove of hogs. 
Ruthlessly the niggers drove them down the bank, 
Stubbornly the porkers eyed the narrow plank, 
Till at length, rebellious, snuffing danger near, 
They turned their long snouts landward and grunted 

out their fear. 
And the white-teethed niggers, grinning with delight. 
Rode them, and bestrode them, and charged them in 

the fight ; 
And then earae shrill lamenting, and agony, and wail. 
And pummelling, and hoisting, and tugging at the tail 
Until the swine were conquered ; and southwai-d 

passed our ship. 
Panting, steaming, snorting, down the Jlississip. 

Thus flew by the slow hours, till the afternoon, 
Mid a wintry landscape, and a sky like June ; 
And the mighty river, brown with clay and sand, 
Swept, in curves majestic, through the forest land, 
And stuck into its bosom, heaving fair and large, 
Many a lowly cypress that grew upon the marge ; — 
Stumps, and trunks, and branches, as maids might 

stick a pin. 
To vex the dirtng fingers that seek to venture ii>— 



DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI. 



Oh travellers I bold travellers ! that roam in wild un- 
rest, 

Beware the pins and brooches that guard this river's 
breast ; 

For danger ever follows the captain and the ship 

Who scorn the snags and sawyers that gem the Mis- 
sissip. 

Here our songster fled us, the little gipsy queen, 
Leaving us a memory of gladness that had been, 
And through the dark night passing, dark without a 

ray, 
Save the light we carried, we held upon our way ; 
Darkness on the waters,— darkness on the sky,— 
Rain-floods beating o'er us,— wild winds howling 

high,— 
But, safely led and guided, by pilots who could tell 
The pulses of the river, its windings and its swell ; 
Who knew its closest secrets by dark as well as light, 
Kach bluff and fringing forest, each swamp or loom- 
ing height — 
Its gambols and caprices, its current's steady law. 
And at the fourth day dawning we skirted Arkansaw : 
Southward, steering southward, in our trusty ship. 
Floating^ steaming, punting, dawn the Missijsnip. 

Weary were the forests, dark on either side ; 
Weary were the marshes, stretching far and wide; 
Weary were the wood-jiiles, strewn upon the bank ; 
Weary were the cane-groves, growing wild and dank ; 
Weary were the tree-stumps, charred and black with 

fire ; 
Weary was the wilderness, without a house or spire ; 
Weary were the log-huts, built upon the sand ; 
Weary were the waters, weary was the land ; 
Weary was the cabin with its gilded wall ; 
Weary was the deck we trod— weary— weary all — 
Nothing seemed so pleasant to hope for or to keep, 
Nothing in the wide world so beautiful as sleep. 
As we journeyed southward in our lazy ship, 
Dawdling, idling, loajing, down the Mii»issip. 

Ever in the evening as we hurried by 

Shone the blaze of forests, red against the sky — 

Forests burned for clearings, to spare the woodman's 

stroke — 
Cottonwood, and cypress, and ash, and giant oak— 
And from sleep upspringing— when the morning came, 
Seemed tbe lengthening landscape evermore the same, 
Evermore the forest and the rolling flood. 
And the sparse plantations and the fertile mud ; — 
Thus we came to Princeton, threading countless isles; 
Tluiji we came Vicksburg, thnce three hundred miles ; 
Thus we came to Natchez, when the starlight shone, 
Cilad to see it— glad to leave it— glad to hurry on- 
Southward, ever southward, in our laden ship. 
Fuming, toiling, heaving, down the JIissi«»ip. 

Whence the sound of music? Whence the merry 

laugh ? 
Surely boon companions,whojest, and sing, and quaff? 
No ! the slaves rejoicing;— happier than the free, 
W'ith guitar and banjo, and burst of revelry ! 
H.irl; (he volleyed laughter! hark the joyous shout ! 
Hark the nigger chorus ringing sharply out ! 



38 



Merry is the bondsman ; gloomy is his lord ; 
For merciful is Justice and kind is Fate's award. 
And God, who ever tempers the winter to the shorn. 
Dulls the edge of Sorrow to these His Iambs forlorn— 
And gives them cheerful natures and thoughts that 

never soar 
Into that dark To-morrow which wiser men deplore. 
So sing, ye careless negroes, in our joyous ship, 
Floating, steaming, dancing, down the Jfississip. 

At the sixth day's dawning all around us lay 
Fog, and mist, and vapour, motionless and grey ; 
Dimly stood the cane-swamps, dimly rolled the stream, 
Bayou-Sara's housetops faded like a dream ; 
Nothing seemed substantia! in the dreary fog- 
Nothing but our vessel drifting like a log- 
Not a breath of motion round our pathway blew— 
Idle was our pilot, idle were our crew — 
Idle were our paddles, idle, free and slave — 
Every thing was idle but the restless wave — 
Bearing down the tribute of three thousand miles 
To the Southern Ocean and its Indian isles ; — 
Thus all morn we lingered in our lazy ship. 
Dozing, dreaming, nodding, down the Missiattip, 

But ere noon, uprising, blew the southern breeze, 
Rolling off the vapour from the cypress-trees, 
Opening up the blue sky to the south and west. 
Driving off the white clouds from the river's breast; 
Breathing in our faces, balmy, from the land, 
A roamer from the gardens, as all might understand ; 
Happy as the swallows or cuckoos on the wing. 
We'd cheated Father Winter, and sailed into the 

Spring, 
And beheld it round us, with i*? sounds and sights. 
Its odors and its balsams, its glories and delights, 
The green grass, green as England ; the apple-trees 

in bloom ; 
The waves alert with music, and freighted with per- 
fume — 
As we journeyed southward in our gallant ship, 
Singing and rejoicing down the 3fis.nMip. 

On the seventh day morning we entered New Orleans, 
The joyous " Crescent City"— a Queen among the 

Queens ; — 
And saw her pleasant harbour alive with tapering 

spars, — 
With "union-jacks" from England, and flaunting 

" stripes and stars" ; — 
And all her swarming Lev6e, for miles upon the 

shore, — 
Buzzing, humming, surging, with Trade's incessant 

roar. 
With negroes hoisting hogsheads, and casks of pork 

and oil. 
Or rolling bales of cotton, and singing at their toil; 
And downwards— widening downwards— the broad 

majestic river. 
Hasting not, nor lingering, but rolling on forever. 
And here, from travel resting, in soft ambrosial hours. 
We plucked the growing orange and gathered summer 

flowers. 
And thanked our trusty Captain— our pilot— and our 

ship — 
For bearing w in safety down the Jfissismp. 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 1. 







JEFFEFSON BABBAOKS. &" 



39 



CHAKT OF MISSISSIPPI. NO 2. 



'''':'Mc,,_fj 







40 



ST. LOUIS TO GEAND TOWER. 



SAINT LOUIS.— An extended notice of 
this city, together with illustrations of some 
of its public buildj ngs, will be found at p. 32. 
ILLINOISTOWN, HI, is opposite St. Louis, 
and is the terminus of the Ohio <fe Mississippi 
Railroad. 

CAHOKIA, 111 , 4 miles below, is probably 
the oldest town in the State, having been 
settled, by the French, at the latter part of 
the I7th century. It was occupied by the 
Caoquias Indians long before the discovery 
of the MississippL Most of the houses are 
built of pickets, one story high, having 
piazzas on each side, and whitewashed. By 
an act of Congress, passed in 1*788, a grant 
of 400 acres of land, adjoining the village, 
•was given to each family — mostly being 
French. It is a town that reminds one of 
the olden time, and seems hardly to have 
moved during the last hundred years. In 
1*766 it contained 40 families, and now has 
about 50. 

CARONDOLET, Mo., formerly called Vide 
Poche, (empty pocket,) is a small town 1 mile 
below, and is occupied by French families, 
engaged in supplying vegetables for the St. 
Louis market. It was settled in 1767, but 
remained almost stationary for a number of 
years. During the last five years, however, 
it has shown a rapid increase. 

JEFFERSON BARRACKS, Mo., 5 miles 
below, is one of the most extensive United 
States military establishments in the West, 
and has a large cavalry school attached, 
from which the mounted troops upon the 
frontiers are supplied, 

CLIFTON, Mo., 10 miles below, and 
Harrisonville, 111., 2 miles below, are small 
towns. Two miles further down is 

HERCULANEUM, Mo., and is a great 
mart for the lead which is found in its 
vicinity. There are also several shot towers 
here in successful operation. In 1844 this 
place was almost entirely destroyed by a 
flood. Population, 1,000. 

PLATTEN ROCK, Mo., 1 mile, Selma, 
Mc, 2 miles, and Rv^t Tower, Mo., are small 
villages. 

FORT CHARTRES, III, 9 miles below, 
■was an old French fort, built in 1720, as a 
defence against the Spaniards. It was taken 
possession of by the British, in 1765, by 
virtue of the treaty of Fontainbleau. It is 
now a heap of ruins. 



ST. GENEVIEVE, Mo., 11 miles below, 
is another old French settlement, dating 
back as far as 1750. It is situated in the 
richest mineral district in the United States, 
and exports large quantities of lead, iron, 
copper and limestone. Forty-two miles back 
of St. Genevieve is situated the celebrated 
" Iron Mountain," the greatest natural curios- 
ity in the West. We subjoin an account of 
this wonderful place, and also an engraving, 
as it appears from the plain below. 

We now pass, in succession, St. Mary's 
Landing, Mo,, 10 miles below. 
PRATTS LANDING, Mo., 2 miles below. 
KASKASKIA RIVER, which enters the 
Mississippi from Illinois, 3 miles below. 

CHESTER, 111., 1 mile below the Kas- 
kaskia. 

MARY'S RIVER, which joins the Missis- 
sippi, from Illinois, 4 miles below. 
PORT PERRY, Mo., 3 miles below, 
LIBERTY, III, 4 miles below. 
WITTEMBURG, Mo., 17 miles below, and 
come to 

DEVIL'S BAKE-OVEN AND GRAND 
TOWER, which are names given to a portion 
of a gigantic range of rocks, rising to a 
great height on both sides of the river, the 
summits of the range being covered with 
vegetation, appearing in strange contrast 
with th« rough and barren sides of the rocks 
which face the water. The current, which 
is here very swift, has, by its force and con- 
stant attrition, separated a mass of rock 
from the main body ; and this stands like a 
giant sentinel in the midst of the waves, 
towering to a height of over 50 feet above 
the level of the river. This isolated rock is 
called Grand Tower. 

The voyager who passes this place so 
leisurely and quietly, without dreaming of 
danger, is reminded, that before steam was 
introduced on the river, this point was 
dreaded more than any other on the passage, 
by the hardy boatmen who traversed these 
waters. They were only able to ascend by 
going on shore on the Illinois side, and 
thence pulling their boats up the stream by 
means of ropes. The hostile Indians, always 
on the look-out for plunder, would conceal 
themselves in the bushes, and, when a favour- 
able opportunity offered, fall upon, rob, and 
perhaps murder the toiling boatmen. Thus 
were lives and property lost, in attemptin<r 



41 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 3. 
ST.CENEVIVE^ 



:: CHESTER. 



MAflr;sa 




LBERTy 



^co^asEa I. 



>«Tr«e£sc« = 



42 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 4. 



■g^^ DUNKINS BAR. 

DEVILS BAKE5VEN. 
ll^'^BREESEVILLE. 

MUDDY R. 




r'/HAMSUSC. 



"''^"^^«jr.„/;yi 



43 



BREESVILLE TO OHIO RIVER. 



that which steam no.^ enables us to perform I erected, at an expense of nearly a million of 



■with safety, 

We now pass, in succession, Breeseville, 
III, 2 miles; the mouth of 3ftiddi/ River, 4 
miles; Birmingham, Mo., 4 miles; Union 
Point, 111., opposite ; and 3 miles below come 
to a scene, where Nature has been engaged 
in playing one of her most curious freaks, 
known as Devil's Teortable and Cornice Rocks'. 
The constant action of the water upon the 
work has worn them into regular shapes, 
representing continuous rows of cornice 
rocks, and other architectural devices, of 
marvellous beauty, which hang majestically 
over the river, and challenge the admiration 
of the beholder. 

Next we pass Bainbridge, Mo., 6 miles be- 
low, and Hamburg, IIL, on the opposite 
shore, and come to 

CAPE GIRANDEAU, Mo., 10 miles below. 
This is a growing post-town, with about 
2,000 inhabitants, having a fine landing for 
steamers, and doing a good business with the 
surrounding country, which is very fertile 
and well populated. It has several good 
stores, 2 academies, a convent, and is the 
seat of St Mary's College, founded in 1830, 
and having a library of 3,500 volumes. 

Pursuing our course, we pass Thebes, 111., 9 
miles below; iVew York, Mo., just opposite; 
Com,nerce, Mo., 3 miles; Kev, Philadelphia, 
Ma, 1 miles; and Ohio City, Mo., 21 miles 
below, and come to 

CAIRO, m., situated at the extreme 
southern point of the State, formed by the 
confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers, and is the southern terminus of the 
Illinois Central Railroad. The location of 
this city, at the junction of two such mag- 
nificent rivers, is unsurpassed, and would in- 
dicate a future of unusual promise. But 
this great hope is, in a great measure, dissi- 
pated by the low position of the land upon 
which the city is built, it being liable to in- 
undations whenever there is a rise in either 
the Ohio or the Mississippi. The low and 
marshy nature of the soil in the surrounding 
country is constantly giving forth miasmatic 
vapours, which is detrimental to the health 
of its citizens. Immense exertions have 
been made to render the city safe from in- 
undations, but hitherto all these efforts have 
been futile, save in a partial sense. A few 
years ago, a high and strong levee was| 



44 



dollars, but the floods of last year (1858) 
swept through the barrier, as though it had 
been paper, and deluged the city fi-om one 
end to the other, destroying much property, 
and putting a stop to business for several' 
weeks. Many houses were washed away, 
and the citizens were obliged to navigate 
the streets in boats. Nevertheless, we feel 
confident, that the great importance of this 
site, commanding, as it does, the whole 
trade of the west and south, will stimulate 
exertion, until the indomitable spirit of the 
people is aroused to a state of determination 
that shall compel the mighty waters to turn 
aside their course, and pursue the uneven 
tenor of their way in another direction. If 
a proper waU of defence requires tens of 
millions, instead of a single million, time 
will assuredly furnish the means, and con- 
struct the enduring barrier. 

Tlie Ohio River pours its huge volume 
of waters into the Mississippi, just below 
Cairo. The Belle Riviere, or the " beautiful 
river," as the French called it, which signifi- 
cation corresponds with the meaning of the 
Indian name, " Ohio," is formed by the con- 
fluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela 
rivers at Pittsburg, and is about 1,000 miles 
in length. No river in the world, of its 
size, rolls for so great a distance with such a 
smooth, uniform and placid current; its 
motion being ordinarily not more than 3 
miles an hour. The only faUs of any note, 
are at Louisville, Ky., which are safely 
passed by even the largest steamers, when 
the water is high, although the descent is 
22^ feet In two miles, producing a very rapid 
current The obstruction to navigation in 
seasons of low water, led to the construction 
of a canal at Louisville, large enough to ad- 
mit the passage of ordinary-sized steamers. 
The rapids and the canal are objects of in- 
terest to every traveller, as is the superin- 
tendent of the latter, Mr. James Porter, bet- 
ter known as the " Kentucky giant," being 
1 feet 9 inches in height He is a very affa- 
ble and gentlemanly man, and in his man- 
ners seems hardly conscious of his truly 
elevated position in society. (Since writing 
the above, we have received tidings of the 
death of Mr. P., at Shippingport, Ky on 
April 25th, 185 9.) 

The principal rivers running into the 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 5. 



J6MSE IS 



BlIfFULO 1 




CHIOCITV 



OHIO RIVER AXD WOLF ISLAND. 



Ohio, are the Muskingum, Great Kanawha, 
Big Sandj% Scioto, Kentucky, Miami, Wabash, 
Cumberland, and the Tennessee. The navi- 
gable waters of the Ohio, with its tribu- 
taries, are estimated at 5,0U0 miles, and the 
extent of area drained, at 200,000 square 
miles. 

The average width of the Ohio, is about 
half a mile, although expanding in some 
places to more than a mile, and in others, 
contracting to 600 yards. Like other west- 
ern rivers, the Ohio is subject to great ele- 
T.ations and depressions, the average rani'e 
between higli and low water being generally 
about 50 feet ; but, in a few instances, rising 
over 60 feet. At its lowest stage, it can be 
forded in several places above Cincinnati, 
and steamers are at such times grounded on 
the sandbars, where thej- are obliged to re- 
main inert until a rise in the waters enable 
them to pursue their journey. Another ob- 
stacle is, floating ice, which continues 4 or 
5 weeks, at the close of the winter season. 
On some portions of the river, the banks are 
high and precipitous, frequently attaining an 
elevation of 5 or 600 feet ; in others, exten- 
sive fields of what is called, " bottom land," 
rising but a few feet above high-water 
mark, and spreading from the river's edge 
into the back country. The scenery of the 
Ohio, although not so sublime as that of the 
Mississippi, or as [licturesque and varied as 
the Hudson presents, is, nevertheless, of a 
very attractive kind. If we were compelled 
to describe the several excellences of these 
rivers in point of scenery, with but one 
word, we should say: the Mississippi is 
wonderful; the Hudson, si(hlime ; and the 
Ohio, hefntdful. 

The travel on this river, especially during 
the spring and fall months, is immense, not- 
withstanding the spread of railroads south 
and west, which enables travellers to cover 
certain distances, in much less time than can 
be accomplished by this route. The fine 
accommodations of her steamers, the mode- 
rate fares, and the safety with wliich they 
navigate, as compared with tlie dangers of 



former years — taken in connection with 
the quiet beauty of the scenes continually 
presented to the eye of the voyager — makes, 
and probably ever will make, the Ohio 
River a popular route with the masses. 

The importance of the river, in a commer- 
cial point of view, and its intimate connec- 
tion with the Mississippi, renders it necessary 
for us to make some mention of the principal 
cities that lie upon its banks, among the most 
important of which may be noticed, Cincin- 
nati, Pittsburg, Wheeling and Louisville. At 
the close of this volume, we have inserted 
several engravings descriptive of the most in- 
teresting scenes and objects in and about 
these cities, which we shall further notice in 
their appropriate places. For the present, 
we shall leave the Belle Riviere, and pursue 
our course down the father of Waters, which 
absorbs the great stream which here pours 
into its bosom, without showing any very 
perceptible increase of bulk. 

Passing the mouth of the Ohio, tlie gallant 
State of Kentucky, on the left bank of the 
river, greets the eye of the traveller. Pass- 
ing on 6 miles, we come to island Xo. 1, op- 
posite which, in Kentucky, is the site of 

OLD FORT JEFFERSOX, a short distance 
back from the river. This fort was built in 
1780, by Gen. Clark, in order to protect the 
navigation of the Mississippi, and secure it to 
Virginia, to wliich State this territory then 
belonged. Just opposite lies 

XORFOLK, Mo., and 7 miles below is Bick- 
u'ith. Mo., and 5 miles further on, Baldmns- 
ville, Mo., all small villages of no especial im- 
portance. We next come to 

COLUMBUS, Ky., 4 miles below. This is 
a pretty town, of about 800 inhabitants, and 
doing an extensive business, which insures a 
steadiness in its future growth. Just above 
it, on the same shore, and extending alon* 
the river about 2 miles, are the Iron Bmi/cn, 
so called from their colour, which resemble 
iron rust in appearance. Just below are the 
Chalk Banks, opposite wliich is 

WOLF ISLAND, one of the largest in this 
portion of the river. 



LEGEND OF WOLF ISLAND. 

It is said to have received its name from Kentucky side was, for a long while, trou- 
the following incident, which occurred many \ bled with the midnight visits of a huge she 
years ago. One of the early settlers on the | wolf, who broke into liis slieep-fold, and rav- 

46 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 6. 



NORFOLK ST: 



WOLF I. /=: 




BECKWITHSincS'^ 



LN0.6 



LOSS OF THE COLONEL GROSSMAN. 



aged his barn-yard with impunitj-, being too 
cunning to be ever detected in flagrante 
delicto. Continued assaults of this kind at 
length made the farmer as savage and as re- 
morseless as his foe, and he vowed that he 
would never close his eyes in sleep until he 
should have slain the assassin of his lambs 
and chickens. Taking a safe position from 
which to make careful observation, and 
armed with a loaded rifle, he watched 
through the weary hours of two nights, in 
vain. About midnight of the third night, 
however, the flickering glimpses of the moon 
disclosed the shadow of his enemy, stealthily 
approaching his premises. Taking as good 
aim as the agitated state of his enraged feel- 
ings would permit, he blazed away at the 
wolf, and, rushing out with the expectation 
of seizing his much-coveted prey, was sur- 
prised to see the animal making her way to- 
wards the river, with a speed that seemed to 
preclude the possibility of her being wounded 
by the discharge. Determined not to be 
foiled this time, the settler followed in pur- 
suit, while the wolf, on reaching the river's 
edge, rushed in the water, and headed for 
the island opposite. Stopping for a moment 
to reload his rifle, the determined farmer 
strapped it to his back with his neckerchief, 
in such a manner as to keep the lock dry, 
and plunging into the river, with bold, strong 
arms, made his way to his enemy's territory. 
A brief search brought him into the presence 
of the wolf, who, with glaring eyes and froth- 
ing mouth, sat crouching at the entrance of 
her den. Raising his rifle to his shoulder, 
and taking deadly aim, the settler snapped 
his lock, which, to his surprise, hung fire. 
"Without stopping to adjust the flint, he club- 
bed his weapon, and aimed a blow at the 
wolf's head, and got it home with such pre- 



cision and force as to break the stock from 
the barrel, and then grasping his hunting 
knife from his girdle, he closed in with the 
ferocious beast, who even now showed fight, 
and tore her assailant's arm in several places, 
with tooth and claw, before she was finally 
dispatched. Being too much exhausted to 
swim back, the settler watched over the dead 
body of his victim until daylight, when a 
boat was sent for him, and he returned in 
triumph from his midnight visit to " Wolf's 
Island." It should be added, that on exam- 
ining the body of the wolf, it was found that 
the bullet from the settler's rifle had entered 
its neck just above the shoulder; and, also, 
that on searching its den, two good-sized 
cubs were found, which were dispatched 
without benefit of clergy. Leaving Wolf 
Island, we pass Beckmth's Landing, a small 
settlement on the Missouri side, and now 
come to 

HICKMAN, Ky. This is a flourishing 
town, doing an active business in shipping 
produce, such as corn, cotton, tobacco and 
cattle. It has 3 or 4 fine churches, and quite 
a number of stores and large commission- 
houses. A fine stage route, starting from 
this point, forms a connection between the 
Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. 

We now pursue our course for several 
miles, without observing any particular ob- 
ject of much note, unless we except 

JAMES BAYOU, which is the first body 
of water, called bayou, we have yet met, 
although they become quite frequent as we 
draw nearer the mouth of the river. Bayou, 
or, hi-oo, as it is generally pronounced, is 
from the French, and signifies a gut or 
channel, or, as it is usually understood 
south, any stream which is derived from 
some other stream, or from a lake. 



EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMER COL. GROSSMAN. 



This beautiful steamer had been built but 
about 8 months, and had been running since 
her completion, on the Missouri River, being 
considered during her brief career, one of 
the finest and safest boats that ever navi- 
gated that stream. In January, 1858, she 
was put on the New Orleans and St. Louis 
route, and started on her first upward trip, 
on Tuesday, 26th of January. On the even- 
ing of the 4th of February, she passed New 



48 



Madrid, and on reaching a point about 1^ 
miles above, her small, or " nigger" boiler 
exploded, with a violence that swept away 
every thing within its range. The bar-keeper 
was instantly killed, and several others 
more or less wounded. Although the boiler 
exploded with such force, yet, strange to 
say, the noi^e accompanying it was com- 
paratively slight, merely causing an indif- 
ferent inquiry in the ladies' cabin, as to what 



CHART OF MISSISSirPI. NO. 7. 



NEW MftDRO)' ^ 




49 



EARTHQUAKE AT NEW MADRID. 



was the matter below. Too soon came the 
dreadful answer, as the devouring flan:c2 
burst forth, and spread with fearful rapidity 
along the fated vessel. The captain imme- 
diately ordered out the yawl, for the pur- 
pose of first saving the ladies and children, 
but the unfeeling deck hands and firemen 
took instant possession, and could not be 
forced out. Another boat, and their last 
hope, was then lowered to the water, and 
into this the captain and officers crowded 
as many of the passengers as it could safely 
hold, and started them off to New Madrid, 
where, in a short time, they were safely 
landed. The flames now enveloping the en- 
tire surface of the decks, the officers' and re- 
maining passengers were forced to jump 
into the piver, from which some were picked 
up by skiffs sent off by persons from New 
Madrid, while others managed to swim 
ashore. Many of the rescued were in the 
water— which was at a temperature of 15 
degrees below the freezing-point— for over 
an hour. Capt. Cheever, like a true man, 
remained at his post until every other per- 
son had left the boat. Tlien, and not till 



j then, did he cast himself in the river, and 
«fji safety by buffeting the current He 
was picked up by a skiff, when he was so 
far exhausted that in a few minutes life 
would have been extinct. On reaching New 
Madrid, it was only by the most skilful and 
continued efforts that he was resuscitated. 
In the mean time, the burning boat floated 
down the stream a distance of three and a i 
half miles, and, lodging on a bar, was soon 
consumed to the water's edge. | 

Besides the officers and crew, there were f 
40 cabin, and 20 deck passengers on board. 1 
The number of lives lost by the explosion^ 
burning and drowning, was about 30 

NEW MADRID, Mo., is 44 miles belowl 
Hickman, and, like that place, does an exj 
tensive trade in shipping produce. Thi 
place was the scene of a violent earthquak 
in 1811, the circumstances and instances o 
which are so graphically described by D 
Hildreth, of Marietta, Ohio, and publish, 
in Perkins's Annals of the West, that we ca 
not resist the pleasure of transcribing it M 
our columns. 



EARTHQUAKE AT NEW MADRID. 



New Madrid-the vibrations from w kh ™ H Pr^.. H 'arge mass of the bank 6f the 

feltalloverthevalleyoftheOl o asS-run eno.Ur -'t' .'"°" "' '* ""« "^''^ 

asPUtsburg. * * "* * New M^dridrhavP Tuf 1£ !"f"'^! ''.'^j^^^^' *>?« crews fere 



as Pittsburg. * * * * New Madndrhav- 
ing suffered more than anv otlier town on the 
Mississippi from its effects, was considered as 
SI uated near the focus, from whence the undu- 
lations proceeded. From an eye-witness, who 
« as then about 40 miles below that town i„ a 

load of produce, and who narrated the scene to 
J 1 "Citation whicli convulsed the earth 
and the waters of the mighty Mississippi, filled 
every living creature with horror. The first 
shock took place in the night, (Dec. 1.; islf •) 
while the boat was lying at the shore in corn- 
pan v with several others. At this period, theTe 
nas danger apprehended from the i^outhern In- 
dians, It being soon after the battle of Tippe- 
canoe, and for safety several boats kept in co n- 
pany, for mutual defence, in case of an attack 
In the middle of the night, there was a terrible 
shock and jarnng of the boats, so that the 
crews were all awakened, and lu.rrie.l on deck 
with their weapons of defence in their hands; 
Thn i ", " Indians were rushint; on board 
I."±'^'.Ff't.'^^'''> .«"'» ^-""l-^^ other 



^; 



oil .,7, .>, i- »"-," v/^yjci.is, me crews were 

all up, making ready to depart. Directly a 

escanP°oTT ""r '^'^^^"S ,"•«« heard, like 'the 
escape of steam from a boiler, accompanied by 
the most violent agitation of the shores, and 
tiemendous boiling up of the waters of the 
Mississippi in hujje swells, rolling the waters 
below back on the descending stream and 
tossing the boats about so violentlv that the 
men, with difficulty, could keep their feet The 
sand-bars and points of the islands gave way 
swallowed up in the tumultuous bosom of the 
river, carrying down with them the cotton-wood 

t.?.^^'/?r »/"'' ^'■ff''i"«- tossing their arms 
to and fro, as if sensible of their danger, while 
they disappeared beneath the flood. The water 
of the river, which, the day before, was toler- 
ablv clear, being rather low, changed to a red- 
dish hue, and became thick with mud, thrown 
up from Its bottom; while the surface, lashed 
violently bj' the agitation of the earth beneath 

mM'^ncT^'*-''''"!. '■°^'^' "■''*^'^' gathering into' 
masses the size of a barrel, floated along on the 
trembling surface. The earth on the" shores 
opened in wide fissures, and, closing again 



aquatic birdrwlios^ n „nC UrK we^ h'""" , "" ''-''"' «--«. "»'! ci^s g ^^^n'' 

quietly resting in the eddies of the river ere i'.TpV 1' ''''^''\ '""'^'/"'^ •""^' *" huge^ets 

t^irown into the greatest tumult, a„d?wm, loud luie w ^fi i'h ^T, "'^ the trees. Theatmos- 

screams, expressed their alarms in acce ts of -h oh ♦ ' r 'i'! "■'*'' " ^^^'^ ^'^'l'""''' "' «"*• to 

50 ' ^ 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 8. 




51 



XEW MADRID TO HATCHEE RIVER. 



tbe heaving up of the bottom, the sinking of | 
the banks and sand-bars into tlie bed of the 
stream, tlie river rose, in a few minutes 5 or 6 
feet ; and, impatient gf the restraint, again 
rushed forward with redoubled impetuosity, 
hurrying along the boats, now set loose by the 
horror-struck boatmen, as in less danger on the 
water than at the shore, where the banks 
threatened every moment to destroy them by 
the falling earth, or carry them down in the 
vortices of the sinking masses. Many boats 
were overwhelmed in this manner, and their 
crews perished with them. It required the 
utmost exertions of the men to keep the boat, 
of which my informant was the owner, in the 
middle of the river, as far from the shores, 
sand-bars, and islands, as they could. Numer- 
ous boats were wrecked on the snags and old 
trees thrown up from the bottom of the Missis- 
sippi, where they had quietly rested for ages, 
while others were sunk or stranded on the 
sand-bars and islands. At New Madrid, seve- 
ral boats were carried, by the reflux of the 
current, into a small stream that puts into the 
river just above the town, and left on the 
ground, by the returning waters, a considerable 
distance from the Mississippi. * * * The 
sulphurated gases that were discharged during 
the shocks, tainted the air with their noxious 
effluvia, and so strongly impregnated the 
water of the river, to the distance of 1.50 miles 
below, that it could hardly be used for any pur- 
pose for several days. New Madrid, which 
stood on a bluff 1-i or 20 feet above the summer 
floods, sunk so low, that the next rise covered 
it to the depth of o feet. The bottoms of seve- 
ral fine lakes in the vicinity were elevated, so 
as to become dry land, and have since been 
planted with corn. Slight oscillations and 
shocks continued to be felt for years along this 
region." 

Leaving New Madrid, we run about 4 miles 
and cross the line ■which divides the States 
of Kentucky and Tennessee. Three miles 
further on brings us to 

POINT PLEASANT, Mo., a small village 
dning a large business in sliipping corn. 

RIDDLE'S POINT, Mo., 3 miles below is 
also mostly engaged in the shipping trade. 
It is also the landing-place of goods and mer- 
clidiidize destined for tlie interior country. 

MRS. MERRINEATHER'S LANDING, on 
the Tennessee side, is called after a lady 
whose estate lies near the river. 

WALKER'S BEND,.7oeJS'.A/e's Bend and 
Little Prairie Bend, are bends in the river, 
so named by the early boatmen. 

LITTLE PRAIRIE, Mo., is a small village, 
wliere it is supposed the central vibrations 
of tlie great earthquake (before described) 
occurred. 

BOOTH'S POINT and Mitchel's Landing 
are small settlements on the Tennessee side. 

NEEDIIAM'S CUT-OFF is 24 miles below 
Little Prairie. This is the first cut-off we 
have yet reachoil. 



These cut-off's, as will be seen by looking 
at our chart, were oi-iginallj- deep bends in 
the river, around which steamers were oblig- 
ed to traverse. In many places, as we have 
before stated, the hands of art have cut 
across the neck of land lying between the 
mouthsof the bends; while in other instances, 
the floods have, in their descending fury, per- 
formed the same act, as in the case now be- 
fore us. 

OBION RIVER runs into the Mississippi 
just above the cut-off. It rises in the N. W. 
part of Tennessee, and flows in a S. W. di- 
rection. Its wliole length, including its main 
branch, is 150 miles, and is navigable about 
50 miles. 

HALE'S POINT and Bnrfield's Point are 
just below, the former in Tennessee, and the 
latter in Arkansas, the dividing line which 
separates Missouri and Arkansas running be- 
tween the two points. 

FORKED DEER RIVER joins the Mis- 
sissippi 4 miles below Barjield's Point. This 
is a long and rather deep stream, rising in 
Tennessee, and flowing thence in a S. W. di- 
rection. Keel-boats ascend the river 1 50 miles 
from its mouth. 

ASHPORT, Tenn,, 2 miles below is a small 
village of .300 inhabitants. 

OSCEOLA, Ark., 12 miles further on, is a 
post village and the capital of Mississippi Co. 
It is seated just at the head of Plum Point 
Bars. 

PLUM POINT is one of the most diflicult 
and dangerous points on the river. The bend 
is very abrupt here, and the frequent changes 
in .the channel have thrown u]> bars, on 
which large quantities of drift stuff have be- 
come imbedded, thus rendering navigation 
extremely difl[icult, and having cost the loss of 
several valuable boats. 

CHICKASAW BLUFF. Six miles below- 
Plum Point, we pass the first bluff — there 
being four between here and Slemphis. These 
bluffs are high banks from 20 to 30 feet above 
the river, and extending several miles, and 
below which the land near the river becomes 
very low. 

FULTON, Tenn., 4 miles below, is on the 
lower extremity of the first bluff, and is a 
thriving town of some 600 inhabitants, doing 
a good business in country produce and in 
cotton. 

IIATCHEE RIVER runs into the Missia- 



52 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. KO. 9. 



/.v. ASH'"""'' 



^^#. 



BURNING OF THE STEAMER BR ANDY WINE. 



sippi 10 miles below Fulton. It rises in Mis- 
sissippi and passes through Tennessee, in a 
course nearly W. N. W. It is navigable for 
about 100 miles. 

RANDOLPH, Tenn., is situated at the 
mouth of Hatchee River, and is mostly en- 
gaged in the cotton trade. 

PECAN POINT, DeviVs Elbow and Brandy- 



wi7ie Point are names given by boatmen to 
peculiar localities of no particular impor- 
tance, save as land-marks to pilots on the 
river. 

GREENOCK, Ark., is nearly 50 miles be- 
low the Hatchee river, and is a small settle- 
ment of about 300 persons. 



BURNING OF THE STEAMER BRANDYWINE. 



The Mississippi river, 10 miles above this 
point, was the scene of a fearful disaster on 
the evening of April 9th, 1832. The steamer 
Braudywine was bound from New Orleans 
to Memphis, and had, among other articles of 
freight, a number of carriage-wheels, wrapped 
in straw, to prevent their being scratched or 
bruised— aud these were stowed on the 
boiler-deck. The steamer was racing with the 
Hudson, and for the purpose of hastening the 
boat's speed, a large guantity ofronnhad been 
thrown into the furnace. The wind was blow- 
ing hard, and the sparks ascended through 
the wide apertures in the boiler-deck, which 
•were occupied by the chimneys, and were 
not fitted closely to the wood-work. In the 
midst of the excitement of the race, the pilot 
discovered that the straw which enveloped 
the wheels was on fire, and, the alarm being 
given, great exertions were made to extin- 
guish the fire, and to throw the burnin 



imagined nor described. The heat and suf- 
focating smoke had now become so insup- 
portable, that over a hundred persons, 
choosing the fearful alternative of a watery 
grave rather than a death by fire, leaped 
into the river, and there many of them sunk 
to rise no more. The scenes that ensued, on 
board and in the waves, baflie description. 
Some lives were saved by the boats of the 
Hudson, and some managed to reach the shores 
by swimming; but a large majority of that 
multitude— so happy and so excited but a 
few minutes before— were either drowned or 
burned— all victims to the raci7ig mania. 

Continuing our voyage, we pass Mound 
City, Ark., and the mouth of Wolf's Run, or 
river, as it is sometimes called, although it 
is not navigable, and come to 

MEMPHIS, Tennessee. This fine city, 
which is the largest and most important 
place on the river between New Orleans aud 



auc Is into the water ; but it_was found St. Louis, is beautifully situated on the fourth 



that their removal allowed the wind to have 
free access to the burning mass, which, from 
its combustible nature, spread in every direc- 
tion with extraordinary rapidity, so that, in 
less than five minutes from the time of the 
first alarm, the whole boat was enveloped in 
the embraces of the devouring flame. The 
boat was unfortunately crowded with pas- 
sengers, whose only escape from fire and 
flood was the yawl, which would hold 
scarcely a tenth of their number. The con- 
sternation on board was frightful in the 
extreme. The orders of the officers could 
not be heard above the general din. Every 
one seemed crazed with fear, and the vast 
numbers which crowded towards the only 
hope of rescue, the yawl, prevented its being 
launched with safety, and as soon as it 
touched the water, it capsized and sunk. 
The despair of the passengers at the destruc- 
tion of this, their last hope, can neither be 



64 



Chickasaw Bluff, which is elevated 30 feet 
above the highest floods. Its appearance, 
from the river, is remarkably striking. An 
esplanade, several feet wide, extends along 
the bluft" in front of the town, and is bordered 
with extensive ranges of large warehouses; 
while, from the base of the bluff, a bed of 
sandstone projects into the river, forming a 
most safe and convenient landing for the 
multitude of steamers which are constantly 
coming in and going out. The business of 
Memphis is very extensive, and is constantly 
increasing. It is estimated that over 150,000 
bales of cotton are annually shipped from 
here. Its favourable position insures its future 
prosperity, as there is no other point on the 
river, from the mouth of the Ohio to Vicks- 
burg— a distance of 650 miles — that affords 
so eligible a site for a commercial d^pot. The 
river, from this city to the gulf, is deep 
enough to float even the largest ships of war; 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 10. 




SXBEEIF «S. 



^T^^A 



65 



FLOODS OF THE MISSISSIPPI, 



and, in view of this advantage, the United 
States Government has established a naval 
d^pot here. The building of steamboats is 
largely carried on in Memphis, and large 
manufactories of cotton, iron and rope are 
in successful operation. 

The Railroad connections of Memphis are 
as follows : 

Memphis and Ohio Railroad to Browns- 
ville, 56 mUes. Twice daily. 

Memphis and Charleston Railroad to all 



intermediate stations for 211 miles, to Steven- 
son, with connections to Chattanooga, 39 miles 
further. 

Memphis and Tennessee Railroad to Gren- 
ada, 97 miles, and all intermediate stations. 

Memphis and Little Rock Railroad to Little 
Rock, Ark. 

The population of Memphis more than 
doubles every ten years, and is now probably 
near 20,000. 



EXPLOSION OP THE HELEN McGREGOR. 



There have been several steamboat disas- 
ters at and near Memphis, one of the most 
serious of which was the explosion of the 
Helen McCh-egor, in 1830. She was on her 
way from New Orleans to Louisville, and 
stopped at Memphis on the morning of Feb. 
24th. She had been lying at the wharf about 
half an hour, and was on the point of depart- 
ing on her trip, when her boilers bursted and 
dealt death and destruction on either hand, 
with fearful havoc. As was, and still is, 
usual, with boats stopping at large places on 
the river to land and take in passengers, the 
boat was crowded with citizens of the town ; 



some of whom were come to see their friends 
off, others to welcome their friends home, and 
many who came as porters, messengers, etc. 
A large number of persons were unfortunately 
on the deck near the boilers, and, when the 
explosion took place, it was estimated that at 
least 50 persons were instantly killed, and 
as many more seriously wounded, among the 
latter being the captain and the pilot of the 
boat. At that day, this accident was the 
most serious that had occurred on the West- 
ern waters. The cause was never accurately 
ascertained, although it was supposed to 
originate in the defection of the boilers. 



FLOODS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 



We have before spoken of the floods which 
sometimes sweep along the course of the 
Mississippi, and while we are now writing 
(April, 1859) the tidings reach us of an 
alarming flood which is now prevailing on 
that portion of the river we are just about to 
enter upon. The giant force of the swollen 
current has caused numerous crevasses, result- 
ing in the over flow of large tracts of the 
lower country, and the destruction of stock, 
crops and improvements to an almost incal- 
culable amount. From Memphis, down, the 
river is described as spreading on either hand 
like a sea, and the marks of desolation are 
every where visible. Scores of plantations 
and villages are either overflowed or rendered 
almost uninhabitable by the mould with 
which the surrounding moisture has covered 
every dwelling. The houses which are built 
on pillars, thus suffering the water to run 
freely beneath, are still occupied. Flatboats 
are usually moored to such habitations, which 
serve the double purpose of stables for the 

56 



cattle and quarters for the negroes who guard 
them. 

The an.\iety to learn the news, from above, 
respecting the water is described as intense, 
and the people exhibited great depression on 
being told that the upper rivers were still 
rising. 

At Helena, the levee has successfully kept 
the town from overflow. Napoleon is also, 
well protected, the levees along both the 
Mississippi and Arkansas rivers being in good 
condition; the water, however, keeps filling 
the low grounds in the rear of the place. The 
grave3-ard on the banks of the Arkansas, and 
between the river and the levee, is submerged, 
and the gravestones and monuments just 
peeping above the flowing waters. At Lake 
Providence, the water is excluded, but the 
town is muddy, and extremely damp and 
noisome. At Vicksburg, the water is sixteen 
inches higher than during the flood of last 
year, so that the steamers tie up " cheek h\ 
jowl" with the houses, some of the awnings 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 11. 



JWEWPHIS 



^/pBlSlOENTS W 



lcO\N \' 



CAT I. 



•^■= fSUCK L 



[CDNWAEBCt 



57 



LOSS OF THE ST. NICHOLAS. 



of which they have knocked down. Vicks- 
Lurg stands on a very liigli bank. 

We also learn that there is often no land 
in sight, and that the steamers, in order to 
reach the so-called " landings," are compelled 
tj pusli among the trees and logs, and buried 
hvees, to deposit a mail-bag or bundle on a 
log or skiff. 

Leaving Memphis, we pass several small 
t^nvns, the first being 

FORT PICKERING, Tenn., 2 miles below 
the city ; 

GRAYSON, 6 miles below, on the Arkan- 
sas side ; soon after which, we cross the 
line dividing Tennessee from Mississippi, and 
come to 

NORFOLK, Miss., 2 miles below; 



BLUE'S POINT, Ark., 18 miles below ; 

COMMERCE, Miss., 2 miles below; 

AUSTIN, Miss., 6 miles below ; and come 
to the mouth of 

ST. FRANCIS' RIVER, which rises in 
St. Francis' Co., Missouri, and flows almost 
parallel with the Mississippi, through the 
north-east corner of Arkansas. In the lower 
part of its course, it passes through exten- 
sive tracts, which are subject to inundation, 
and are partly occupied by cypress swamps. 
The whole length of the river is 450 miles, 
for 150 of which, it is navigable at seasons 
of high water. There are abundance of 
trout and other fish in this stream. 

STERLING, a small trading-post, is at 
the mouth of the above river. 



LOSS OF THE ST. NICHOLAS STEAMER. 



On Sunday night, April 24, 1859, the 
steamer St. Nicholas, Capt. McMullen, bound 
from St. Louis to New Orleans, exploded 
her boilers when opposite Island No. 60, 
which lies in the Mississippi, about midway 
between Sterling and Helena, Arkansas. It 
was about 10 o'clock in the evening when 
the occurrence took place, and the darkness 
which prevailed, served to add to the dis- 
may and confusion of the survivors, who 
were at a loss which way to go, or what to 
do, to save themselves from immediate death. 
Soon the flames began to spread, and gave 
forth fitful gleams that revealed new dangers 
to the terror-stricken passengers. The steamer 
Susquehanna, fortunately, at this time came 
to the rescue, and took on board some 16 
wounded, and about 50 who were unin- 
jured. It is known that as many as 60 
lives were lost, including the captain, the 
first clerk and his wife, first and second 
engineers, and 13 deck-hands and firemen. 

It is a remarkable coincidence, that, just 
before the accident, the captain, a Mr. 
Reynolds and a gentleman from "Warrenton, 
Miss., were in the pilot-house engaged in 
conversation in reference to tlie explosion 
of the steamer Pennsylvania, which occurred 
about one year before, near this spot, and by 
wiiich calamity some 80 or 90 lives were 
lost. The gentleman from Warrenton was a 
firm believer in the Calvinistic doctrine of 
predestination, but qualified his statement 
w ith the declaration that he was prepared 

68 



for death, whenever it might come. The 
conversation had hardly concluded when 
the explosion took place, and the three 
speakers were separated — never again to 
meet in this world — the pilot alone being 
saved to record this coincidental discussion. 
On the explosion, Capt. McMullen fell be- 
low, entangling his legs among some shat- 
tered timbers, and, although great efforts 
were made to extricate him, he was burned 
to death, while his cries for help were dis- 
tinctly heard by those on deck. Mr. Gillam, 
the 2d cl^rk, was in his berth, and his first 
sensation was the hearing of a report like a 
pistol. When he awoke to full conscious- 
nes.s, he was floating on his mattress in the 
river, a hundred yards from the steamer. 

Mr. Reid, the pilot, stated that just before 
the explosion the steam was a title above 
the ordinary guage, and that he could dis- 
tinctly hear it escape as he stood at the 
wheel. If this be true, then we have an- 
other instance to be added to the long cata- 
logue of casualties which can be charged to 
gross carelessness, or, at best, to a want of 
that faithful watchfulness which should be 
imperative on the part of the engineer and 
his assistants. 

Connected with this catastrophe was an 
aff"ecting instance of female heroism, which 
we cannot forbear chronicling in this work. 
Miss Kennedy, a cousin of the chief clerk, 
who was one of the owners of the boat, was 
thrown, by the ex-plosion, from her state- 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 12. 




BATTLE 



ST. FRANCIS R 



59 



FIRST VIEW OF THE illSSISSIPPI. 



room into the river, and floated down to the 
stern of the boat, when she cauglit her hand 
in one of the rings attached to the hull, and 
hung in that perilous dilemma, while death 
stood threatening upon either hand. To 
loose her hold was to sink into the waves, 
and to hold on was to burn with the wreck 
to which she was clinging — every moment 
being an age of alternating hope and despair. 
She remained in this position until the flames 
actually burned the hair and skin from her 
head, the only part of her body above the 
water, except the hand by which she clung 
to the wreck, and that was burned to a crisp. 
AVhile in this awful suspense, and suffering 
intensely from the heat, such was her pres- 
ence of mind and her wonderful heroism, 
that, as a man who was worse stunned, per- 
haps, than herself, by the explosion,' was 
floating by her in a drowning condition, she 
seized him by the hair with her disengaged 
hand, and held his face out of the water 
until a skiff was brought to the rescue of 
both. It often falls to the strong arm of man 
to assist the helplessness of woman ; but in 
this instance the strength of endurance, and 
a courage that was stronger than her arm, 
made a woman the preserver of herself and 
one of the stronger sex 

HELENA, Ark., is a thriving town 10 
miles below, containing about 600 or VOO 



inhabitants. In 1852 the place was almost 
entirely destroyed by fire. A considerable 
business is done in shipping cotton from this 
point. Back of the town there is a very 
striking range of hills, the only ones to be 
seen from the river for a long distance. 

YAZOO PASS, or BAYOU, 8 miles below, 
connects the Mississippi with the Yazoo 
River, enabling flat-boats to pass througli 
an immense tract of country, fertile with 
extensive cotton plantations, extending a 
distance of 300 miles. 
I DELTA, Miss., is a small village on the 
southern side of the bayou. 

FRIAR'S POINT, Miss., is 6 miles below, 
and just above the 

HORSE SHOE CUT-OFF, which is a large 
bend in the river, resembling a horse-shoe in 
form, and across which a cut has been made, 
which saves some miles of travel to the voy- 
ager. 

OLD TOWN, Ark., is 3 miles below. 
BARNEY'S, Ark., 10 miles further down. 
LACONIA, Ark., 10 miles below. 
CONCORDIA, Miss., 20 miles below, at the 
mouth of a small bayou. 

MONTGOMERY'S POINT, Ark., 10 miles 
below, is the landing place for merchandise 
destined to the White River country. 

VICTORIA, Miss., situated opposite, is also 
a landing place for the interior country. 



FIRST VIEW OF THE RIVER— BY DE SOTO. 
It was near this place that De Soto first 1 Indians that were ever on his path, he at 
beheld the waters of the Mississippi. It was length reached the banks of the Mis^i.^ippi 



in the beautiful month of May, in 1539, tiiat 
the expedition under the great discoverer, 
sailed from Havana, in search of the "El 
Dorado,"' which, the Spaniards were led to 
believe, existed in the, as yet, undiscovered 
country of the soutli. A voyage of two weeks 
brought him to the coast of Floi-ida, where 
he landed and commenced his search for 



and, crossing it near tlie point we have just 
described, he wandered with his followers 
through the wilds of Arkansas, in the neigh- 
borhood of White River, until lack of provi- 
sions and the severity of the winter com- 
pelled him to retrace his steps, and to recross 
the Mississippi at a point about 20 miles 
below the Arkansas River. Worn out by 



gold. But the native Indians opposed his i toil and exposure, and disheartened by a W 



progress at every step, and it was only by 
getting possession of the several chiefs of the 
country through which he passed, and whom 
he held as hostages, that he was enabled to 
pursue his way in security. After wandering 
about for two years, in his vain search for 
the valued ore which he and his followers so 
much coveted, and tired with continual stru 



succession of disappointments, De Soto soon 
after was attacked with malarious fever, 
which caused his death, at the comparatively 
early age of 42. 

WHITE RIVER joins the Mississippi. 4 
miles below Victoria. In the Ozark Jloun- 
tains, three insignificent streams take their 
rise, and, running first into Missouri and then 



feles with the numerous bands of hostile | back into Arkansas, unite together a few 

tiO 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. KO. 1^ 



STERLIWC 



B\C PRMP.lt 




CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 14. 



61 




VICTORIA 



62 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 15. 




N? 70 



WBOLlVAR LOa 



63 



EXPLOSIOX OF THE ROB ROY AND OROXOKO. 



miles east of Fayetteville, and forms White 
River. Its -whole length is estimated at 800 
miles, being navigable for steamboats 350 
miles, to the mouth of Black River, its largest 
affluent. In some seasons, the river is navi- 
gable 50 miles further up. The channel is 
seldom less than 4 feet deep. The country 
through wliich it flows is generally fertile, 
and is especially adapted to cotton and Indian 
corn. Pine forests are found in the upper 
course of the river, and cypress swamps on 
its lower section. 

ARKANSAS RIVER enters the Mississippi 
16 miles below White River. Ne.\t to the 
Missouri, this is the largest tributary of the 
Mississippi, it being more than 2,000 miles in 
length. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, be- 
tween Utah and the Indian Territory.it pursues 
an easterly course for several hundred miles, 
and then turns its current in a south-east- 
erly direction, and finally penetrates through 
the centre of Arkansas, into the embraces of 
tiie Mississippi. It is navigable for steam- 
boats for about 800 miles, there being but 
little obstruction from falls or rapids. The 
difference, however, between high and low 
water is very great — usually about 25 feet. 
The country along its upper course is barren 
and rocky, but, after entering the State of 



Arkansas, the soil which it traverses is gen- 
erally ver^' productive. 

NAPOLEON, Ark., is near the mouth of 
tiie Arkansas River, and is a fine, growing 
place, of 1,500 inhabitants. The United 
States Government has established a Marine 
Hospital here. 

BOLIVIA, Miss., 13 miles below, is a small 
village. 

PLANTATIONS. Our readers will notice, 
on looking at our Chart of the Mississippi, 
that names and titles are spread along the 
banks of the river in great profusion, begin- 
ning at about the point we have now^ reached 
and continuing to New Orleans. It may be 
necessary for us to mention, that these titles 
do not refer in all cases to either towns or 
villages, but in most cases are the names of 
plantations lying near or on the banks of the 
river, or to the owners of them — most gener- 
ally the latter. 

COLUMBIA, Ark., is 53 miles below Na- 
poleon, and is a place of much enterprise, 
containing a population of 6 or 700 persons. 

The great cotton-growing region com- 
mences here, and plantations grow plenty as 
we proceed down the river. Spanish Moss 
grows near tliis place. 



EXPLOSION OF THE ROB ROY. 



It was close to Columbia that, on the even- 
ing of June 9th, 1836, the fatal catastrophe 
occurred which we are about to relate. The 
Rob Roy was on her way from New Orleans 
to Louisville, when, on nearing the town of 
Columbia, her engine was stopped for the 
purpose of oiling the machinery, an operation 
that only occupied a few minutes' time, but 
sufficient to produce such an accumulation of 
steam as to cause an explosion. The pilot 
immediately headed for the shore, which was 
happily readied in a few minutes, the head- 
way of the boat at the time of the explosion 
being very great. By this measure, no lives | 



were lost after the explosion. By this acci- 
dent 17 persons were killed outright, and 
about 15 or 20 scalded, some of them surviv- 
ing but a short time. 

Passing Point Chicot, Ark., 4 miles below; 
Greenville, Miss., 4 miles below ; Worthington 
Landing, Ark., 22 miles below, and Grand 
Lake Landing, Ark., 6 miles below, we come 
to 

PRINCETON, Miss., 4 miles below— a small 
village of 4 or 600 inhabitants, and a landing 
place for tiie plantations lying back of the 



EXPLOSION OF THE ORONOKO. 



On the morning of April 21st, 1838, the 
steamer Oronoko made a stop in the river, 
just opposite Princeton, for the purpose of 
sending her yawl ashore for passengers. We 
extract from an account published of the hor- 
rible accident which now occurred : 



64 



" In less than five minutes after the ma- 
cl)inery ceased moving, a flue collapsed, 
spreading deatli and devastation on every 
hand. This accident occurred before the 
people on board were aroused from tlieir 
slumbers. The deck passengers were lodged 



CHAET OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 16. 



COTTON plantation: 



CASTERS LOCpl 
CAMPBELLS' 

POINTCOMFORT 
LEWELLEN 



FAULKNER'S 

SILAS CRAIQ'S \^^^ 
LUNA'S V 




CRAIG'S 

COLUMBIA J^ 



CAMPBELL'S 
CREEWViLLE 



PRINCETOX TO YAZOO RIVER. 



on the lower deck, abaft the engine, where, 
as is customary in western steamboats, berths 
were provided for their accommodation. On 
tliis occasion, the number of berths were in- 
sufficient, as the boat was thronged with 
emigrants, and mattrasses had been spread 
over the floor for the use of those who could 
not be lodged in berths. This apartment, 
between decks, was densely crowded with 
sleeping passengers, when the flue collapsed, 
as before mentioned, and the steam swept 
through the whole length of the boat with 
the force of a tornado, carrying every thing 
b«fore it. Many of the crew, whom duty 
had called on deck at that early hour, were 
blown overboard ; and, as the scalding vapour 
penetrated every part and recess of the cabin 
and space between decks, the slumbering 
population of the boat, with scarcely an in- 
dividual exception, were either killed on the 
spot, or injured in a manner more terrible 
than death itself Some of these unfortunates 
were completely excoriated, some shockinglj- 
mangled and torn, while others were cast 
among masses of ruins, fragments of wood 
and iron, piled up in inextricable confusion. 
Tlie deck was strewn with more than 50 
helpless sufferers ; the river was all alive with 
tliose who had been thrown overboard by the 
force of the explosion, and those who, frantic 
with pain and terror, had cast themselves 
into the water. Some of those who had been 
scalded swam to the bank, and then, in tiie 
wildest frenzy, occasioned by intolerable 
agony, leaped back into the river, and were 
drowned. Most of the persons occupying the 
cabin escaped before the steam reached that 
apartment; but one gentleman, Mr. Myers, 
of Wheeling, while making his way forward 
with his child in his arms, became alarmed 
at the scene of confusion and distress which 
presented itself, and, rushing back to the 
cabin, which by this time was filled with 
steam, both him and the child were badly 
scalded, and died soon afterwai'ds. 

" Nearly one hundred deck passengers are 
supposed to have been sacrificed, a great 
majority of whom were unknown, as it is not 
customary to take the names of such persons 
on river steamers. Thirty or forty were seri- 
ously wounded, several of whom subsequently 
died. Some of those blown overboard were 
picked up by the yawl, and two or three were 
saved by a skiff from the sliore. The inhabi- 



tants of Princeton did all in their power to 
assist the distressed crew and passengers, and 
to alleviate tlieir sufferings." 

Passing Carolina Landing, on the left, and 
Ashton, on tlie riglit, we come to Butcher's 
Cut-off, 10 miles below Princeton. This cut- 
off runs through a swamp, and is but a short 
distance across, while the main channel flows 
round the bend a distance of 18 miles. Soon 
after we leave the cut-off, we pass the bound- 
arj' lines which separates Arkansas from 
Louisiana, and, 19 miles distant, come to the 
town of 

PROVIDENCE, La., which is a pretty town 
of about 500 inhabitants, doing a considerable 
trade in cotton, and in transmitting goods 
into the interior. Just back of the town is 
the lake, from which it derives its name, 
through which, it is supposed, the Mississippi 
once flowed. 

PLANTATIONS ON THE RIVER. Tlie 
voyager will frequently notice, on both sides 
of the river, large groups of buildings, having 
the appearance of villages, whicli have no 
designation on our map. These are generally 
large plantations, some of them containing a 
thousand slave hands; and the necessary 
quarters to shelter such a body of negroes, 
together with the houses ol the overseers, 
barns and otlier out-buildings, are often suffi- 
cient to make, so far as size at least is con- 
cerned, a town of some pretensions. These 
plantations, on a pleasant summer's day, when 
the negroes are at work near the river, afford 
some interesting views to the steamboat 
traveller. 

Most of the villages between Providence 
and the Yazoo River — 50 miles distant — are 
used as residences for the rich planters whose 
estates lie in the neighboui'hood ; and as land- 
ings for provisions and goods destined for the 
use of the plantations. 

YAZOO RIVER. This stream is formed 
bv the Tallaliatchie and Yallobusha Rivers, 
which unite at Leflore, in Carrol Count}', and, 
flowing in a south-west direction, flows into 
the Mississippi 12 miles above Vicksburg. It 
is a deep, but narrow, sluggish stream, nearly 
300 miles in length, traversing an alluvial 
plain of extreme fertility, which is mostly 
occupied by cotton plantations. It is proba- 
bly not surpassed in navigable waters bj- any 
river of its size in the world, as steamboats 
can ascend from its mouth to its origin in all 
G(i 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO 17. 



SUNNY side: L0G. ^== 



MRS. JACKSON S 

WOODBURNS 

=*aa griffin's 



JOHNSONS;^ 
rORDS PLACE ^^ 



N.ROSS 



TOWNOFASHTONU 
SCOTTS 




DR. BROOK 9 

^deercretkldg, 
Sjohnson's 



^warfield's 



GEO.\V.POUC^= 



JOHNSTON SCOTS PLACE 



WORTHINGTON 



GRAND LAKE^^ 
H1LUAK0S^=: 
RAYNER'S- 

e^lourney's hunting lodae, 
r.o.ballard' 

bowles & shaw. 



PRINCETON 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 18. 
PILCHERS POINT 



COL WADE HAMPTONS 
92 J.H. DUNCANS 

KIPSWORTHS LANDING 
WILDERNESS PLACE 



TULARA 

NORTHS , 
CAMMACKS LANDJMC 




TUCKERS 
SUTTONS 
RAILEYS 

BERRY. CARPENTER S 

CROWE S LANDING 
LAKE PROV!DEWCEui= 



WILSONS . 
STOWES' 
DEASONS 
JBASS 



BURNLYS 
MRS.MOORES 



TRANSYLVANIA LDC —M 

KEENE RICHflRDs'\=; 



:'JDCE MORGANS 



GOODRICH S 
ILLAWARA landing' 
CALLOWAY'S . 
MRS, SAVAGES^ 

RAILEY S 

DR BONNERS 

O.MORGANS 

/ 

NEWMANS 

HAWES' 
HARRIS 



EDOINCTONS HOME PLACE | 
100/ 



IgiTENNESSE LDC 
DUMBARTON'S 



LANGLEYS 
EUSTIS' 

08 

CHOTARDS 



KIZERS 

EDDINOTONSMISS.PLACE 
THOMPSONS 



08 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 19. 



-^ril "^^^^ BBICOUNT'S 




^^THt^&L.E\S 



CHRlSTIiWS 



BUTLERS CORNICOFI* 



WHITE'S 



irKSBORC 



69 



VICKSBUEG TO NATCHEZ. 



stages of water, and in all seasons of the j'ear. 
Its principal tributary, the Tallahatchie, is 
also navigable for over 100 miles. 

WALNUT HILLS, 10 miles below the 
Yazoo, are a range of high ground, reaching 
up to nearly 500 feet, and extending along 
the river two miles ; and, as they are under a 
high state of cultivation, they present a series 
of interesting views, scarcely excelled b^- any 
others on the lower part of the river. 

VICKSBURG, Miss., occupies an elevated 
position on the side of a hill, whose highest 
point is 300 feet above the river. It is 400 
miles above New Orleans, and 45 miles west 
from Jackson, the capital of the State, with 
which it is connected by a railroad. This is 
the largest commercial city on the river be- 
tween Memphis and Natchez, the most im- 
]iortant article of export being cotton, of 
wliich it ships about 150,000 bales annually. 
A regular line of steamers ply between here 
and New Orleans. The view of the city 
from the river is very interesting. The situa- 
ti'^n being high, and the houses being built 
iu terraces on the side of the hill, give it a 
very fine and picturesque appearance. Op- 
posite the city, the Mississippi is 300 feet deep. 

The railroad connections are — To Bran- 
don, (30 miles, and thence to Taylor's, 21 
miles further. Jackson to New Orleans, 182 
miles. When finished, the Shreevesport and 
Texas Railroad will connect at Vicksburg. 

WARRENTOWN, Miss., 10 mUes below 
A'ifksburg, is a small settlement of about 400 
persons. 

PALMYRA, Miss., 15 miles below, and 
New Carthage, La., nearly opposite, are also 
small villages of a few hundred inhabitants. 

BIG BLACK RIVER, 24 miles below, 
rises in Choctaw Co., Miss., and, after a 
Course of 200 miles through a level and very 
fertile region of countrj-, chiefl}' occupied by 
cotton plantations, enters the Mississippi at 
a point called Grand Gulf, opposite which 
i> a town of the same name, doing a flour- 
ishing business, and containing 1,200 inhab- 
itants. 

BAYOU PIERRE, 10 miles below, runs 
far up into the interior, and is navigable for 
keel-boats as far as Port Gibson, 28 miles 
from the Mississipjii. 

BRUINSBURG, Miss., near the mouth of 
the T>ayou ; St. JoneplCn, La., 6 miles below, 
and Rodney, Miss., 4 miles below that, are 



small towns of from 200 to GOO inhabitants . 
each. 

Just below the last-named place, at a 
point where the river makes a sharp bend, 
is the farm formerly occupied by Gen. Taylor, 
President of the United iStates in 1849, and, 
at a point still further down, and just below 
Fairchild's Island, is the estate of Gen. Quit- 
man. 

NATCHEZ, the largest and most commer- 
cial city in Mississippi, is 41 miles below 
Rodney, and is built on a high bluff w^hich 
rises 200 feet above the river. A portion of 
the city, however, is built on the margin of 
the river, and is called " Natchez under the 
Hill." The high position of Natchez com- 
mands a fine view of the immense Cypress 
Swamps of Louisiana, which abound in this 
vicinit}'. The streets are wide and regular, 
and some of the public buildings and busi- 
ness stores are very handsome. The private 
residences are built mostly of wood, and 
many of them are adorned with fine flower- 
gardens and orange groves. Natchez boasts 
of several fine seminaries and public schools, 
which have tended a good deal to increase 
her population within a few years. The city 
is the centre of an extensive shipping busi- 
ness, of which cotton is the principal article. 

Natchez derives its name from the tribe 
of Indians who were formerly the owners 
of the soil upon which it is built. The first 
settlement was made by Mons. DTberville, 
an enterprising Frenchman, who having, in 
1698, visited the Mississippi, and erected a 
fort, in which he left a small garrison, re- 
turned to France, and, in December of the 
following year, again made the ascent of the 
river, in company- with his brother. When 
he reached the country of the Natchez In- 
dians, their chief, the " Great Sun," gave 
him a cordial greeting, and a welcome to 
build his " wigwam " where he listed. Tlie 
Iiigh bluff where Natchez now stands was 
selected, and, at first, called Rosalie, in 
honor of the Countess Pontchartrain. For 
many years the settlement made no advance, 
until, in 1116, a strong fort was built, which 
resulted in drawing to it a population that 
soon made it the largest town in that region 
of country. Its population now is about 
8,000. 

ELLIS'S CLIFF.S, 18 miles below, is a 
high ridge on the east side of the river, ex- 



70 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 20. 



S MEADS 



HENDERSON &. LACKLAMES 



^E^l^ALLEN'S CUT OFF PLACE 




HKRO "TIWES 



CHAET OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 21. 



^^J WHITE HALL PLACE 



JOB WILLIAM'S 



BONDURAN-PS = 



CILUSriE'S 



ST.JOSEPH i^^^ 
QR.INGE'S ^^ 



MRS. MORRI 8 




MRS ANM LEE'S ^^M^^^t 



Si 



s 






^ N C EN TAYLORS OLD FARM 



SERVICE'S 



^ .d^==¥:^^=~/ FULTON'S 



OB. INGE'S 



.72 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO, 22. 



S.P.DUNCAN'S 



FAIRCHILDS I. 




GEN. aUlTMAfi'9 



SHOVEL NOSE LOG 



SCCTTV^»»LBC. 



CLL-IS CLIFFS 



MC CUTCHEN'S 
MUTCHINC S LANDING 



on HARPER'S 

SAMDERSENS BRIER PLACE 

73 



LOSS OF STEAMER S. B. TECHE. 



tending for miles, and presenting an agree- 
aole contrast to the low monotonous scenery 



we have been accustomed to behold on the 
lower part of the Mississippi. 



LOSS OF THE STEAMER TECHE. 



On the evening of May 4, 1825, tiie steam- 
er S. B. Teche left Natchez, with a large 
freight of cotton, and 70 or 80 passengers, 
many of whom came on -board late, and 
were unknown to each other. Starting 
down the river, she proceeded about 9 or 10 
miles, when the night became so excessively 
dark, that her commander deemed it unsafe 
to proceed farther, and therefore brought 
his vessel to anchor. At 2 o'clock on the 
following morning, the haze having cleared 
away, the anchor was weighed, and, the 
steam having been previously raised, the 
steamer pursued her way. Scarcely had her 
wheels made a dozen revolutions, ere the 
passengers, many of whom had been asleep 
in their berths, were startled by a shock 
which seemed sufficient to separate every 
plank and timber in the vessel, accompanied 
by a report which sounded like the dis- 
charge of a whole broadside of the heaviest 
artillerj'. Every light on board was imme- 
diately extinguished, either by the escape of 
the steam or by the concussion of the air. 

As the day had not yet dawned, an im- 
penetrable darkness now hung over the 
scene of the disaster, the extent of which 
could only be imagined by the affrighted 
crowd that soon collected on the deck. Just 
at that moment of appalling fear and pain- 
ful uncertainty, a cry was raised that the 
boat was on fire. Then followed a scene of 
indescribable confusion. The passengers, in 
the insanity of terror, rushed hither and 
thither through the dense gloom, and many 
of them anticipated their doom in their blind 
endeavours to avoid it. 

Mr. Miller, of Kentucky, one of the sur- 
vivors, stated that when the alarm of fire 
was given, he attempted to move towards 
the bow, whence the alarm proceeded, but 
before he had advanced ten steps, he was 
precipitated down the hatchway, (the hatch- 
es having been blown off by the explosion,) 
and after falling (fortunately, on his feet) to 
the bottom of tiie hold, he found himself 
knee-deep in scalding water, which had been 
discharged from the fractured boiler. He 
wuuld soon have perished in the suffocating 

74 



vapor which filled the place, had not his 
cries for assistance been heard by some hu- 
mane person on deck, who threw him the 
end of a rope, and thus enabled him to es- 
cape from his agonizing and perilous situa- 
tion. 

By this time the flames began to ascend, 
illuminating the deck with a lurid glare, 
which enabled the passengers to discern the 
means of escape which offered, though these 
means were made less available by the terror 
and confusion which prevailed. The boat's 
yawl made several trips to the nearest shore, 
carrying off a load of passengers at each trip, 
but, as the flames began to extend rapidly 
over the deck, it was evident that all the 
people on board could not be saved in this 
way. Under these circumstances, the cap- 
tain ordered several bales of cotton to be 
thrown overboard, and on these many pas- 
sengers were kept afloat until the boats 
finally took them off. 

But the last incident of this afflicting nar- 
rative is the most distressing. About one 
hour after the explosion, the steamer Wash- 
ington, while passing up the river, was 
hailed by the passengers remaining on board 
the burning vessel. The Wasiiington prompt 
ly sent a boat to their assistance, and waited 
to receive them. All who were remaining 
of the Teche's passengers, about 12 in num- 
ber, embarked in the Washington's boat, and 
now, assuring themselves of safety, they had 
reached the side of the steamer, Avhen, by 
some unluckj- accident, the small boat was 
upset, and every person — man, woman and 
child — was drowned. It would seem that 
inexorable fate had doomed them to de- 
struction. 

The number of lives lost bj' this accident 
could never be accuratelj- ascertained. Seve- 
ral persons were instantly killed by the ex- 
plosion, and others were so badly injured 
by scalding, or otherwise, that they died 
soon afterwards. It was thought that not 
less than 20 or 30 lives were lost. 

Pursuing our route, we pass Union Point, 
3 miles down the river, and 23 miles further 
on, come to the mouth of Homochitto River, 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. -3. 



PETE UmiE'S. 

BARKER 'S 

DIVE'S. 



FAIRVIEV,' LANOmC. 



aUASS COCK'S. 



JOHNSON'S. 




MORISIANA LANtMNt 



PALMETTO PT. 



HOMOCHITTA r^ 



^-.'j'l FORT ADAMS. 



a small stream that is not navigable 
miles below that, is 

FORT ADAMS, Miss., which is a small 
village, and the port of supply for the town 



BURNING OF THE BEN SHERROD. 
Ten 



of Woodville— a thriving place, situated a 
short distance in the interior. Tiiis point of 
the river was the scene of another frightful 
disaster, which we will speak of below- 



BURNING OF THE BEN SHERROD. 



' On the 8th of May, 1887, the large Louisville 
and Ne«r Orleans packet, the Ben Sherrod 
caught fire on her upward trip, while she was 
engaged in an exciting race with the steamer 
i^raine. It was one o'clock at night, and the 
boat was about 14 miles above Fort Adams 
ploughing her way up the Mississippi with great 
velocity. The Prairie was just ahead of hir, in 
sight, and the crew of the Ben Sherrod were 
determined, if possible, to go bv her The fire- 
men were shoving in the pine kiiots, and sprink- 
Img rosin over the coal, and doing their best to 
raise more steam. They had a barrel of whiskv 
before them, from which thev drank often and 
treely until they were beastly drunk. The 
boilers became so hot that they set fire to sixtv 
cords of wood on board, and the Ben Sherrod 
was soon completely enveloped in flames The 
passengers, three hundred in number were 
sound asleep, not thinking of the awful doom 
that awaited them. When the deck hands dis- 
covered the fire, they basely left their posts and 
ran for the yawl, without giving the alarm to 
the passengers. Captain Castleman attempted 
tor a time to allay the excitement and confusion 
by telhng them the fire was extinguished' 
Iwice he forbade the lowering of the vawl 
which was attempted. The shrieks of nearlv 
three hundred and fifty persons, now on l)oard 
rose wild and dreadful, which might have been 
beard at a distance of several miles. The cry 
was, "To the shore! to the shore!" and the 
boat made for the starboard shore, but did not 
gain It, as the wheel-ropes soon burnt The 
steam was not let off, and the boat kept on up 
the river. The scene of horror now beggared 
all description. The yawl, which had been tilled 
with the crew, had sunk, drowning nearly all 
who were in it ; and the passengers had no o'ther 
alternative than to jump overboard, without even 
taking time to dress. There were ten ladies 
who all went overboard without utterino- a sin- 
gle scream ; some drowned instantlv, and others 
clung to planks; two of the number were all 
that were saved. Several passengers were 
burnt ahve. One man by the name of Rav 
from Louisville, Kentucky, jumped overboard' 
and huug to a rope at the bow of the boat until 
rescued by the yawl of the steamer Columbus 



Th^tlV^i « t^^^f ene half an hour after 
the boat took fire. Mr. Rav's foce and arms 
were much burnt while clinging to the boat 
^rnl^H f- iV- -" 'k 'P'"^"- The steamboat Alton 
f,nn^f ^^ f" ^""'' "'''^'' "le Columbus, but. 
fiom the carelessness or indiscretion of those on 
her, was the means of drowning many persons 

under full headway among the exhausted suf- 
ferers, who were too weak to make anv further 
exertion, and, by the commotion occasioned by 

I her wheels, drowned a large number " 

It was said by some of the passengers that 

I the captain o the Alton did not hear^th;'ci es 
of those who implored him for assistance as he 
passed. It being midnight ; but there can be no 
excuse for the monster who commanded tie 
Praine, for leaving a boat in flames wi ho t 
turning around and affording the suftlrers 
Vlcksbu?g. ""^'''"^ ^'' °° ^''^' xVatchez and 

f J';'^f'"''"i 1° ^ *'''°°^ °^"'' *^^ scene of the disas- 
ter refused to save any who were floating in tlie 

oS'v"for'h-*'''-' P™""*^^. *° P^^' hi- haS 
somely for his services. So rapid were the 
flames, that not even the register of the boit 

iT'oTthe /ost.'^" '' ""^ '"P°^^'^"^ '' S^'- ^"11 

„.^1^"^ '^^a''^ h^^ passengers, not more than 6 
«ye saved This was one of the most serious 
calamities that ever occurred on the Mississinni 
River, there being at least 170 families depi- ^^^d 
bj It of some dear and beloved member and 
over 200 souls being hurried bv it out of tie 
into eternity, with scarce a moment's warni," 
During the burning of the Ben Sherrod s diife?-: 
ent explosions occurred ; first, barrels of whiskv 
braidv, etc. ; then the boilers blew up, witha 
fearfjil explosion; and lastly, 40 barrels of !'., 
powder exploded, which made a noise tiiat was 
heard many miles distant, scattering f.-a.^u"; s 
of the wreck in all directions, and prTuIncTn.' "he 
grandest sight ever seen. Immediatelv after 
the wreck sunk out of sight, just aboVe Fort 
Adams. A large quantity of specie, which was 
on Its way to the Tennessee banks, was los 
?n"/I^T T''" S'^'t'? his pocket-book, contain: 
mg $38 000, under his pillow, and, though he 
managed to escape, he lost all his money.'' 



if 



RED RIVER enters the Mississippi n 
miles below Fort Adams. This is one of the 
most important affluents of the Mississippi, its 
main stream being about 1,200 miles in length. 
It rises in a chain of mountains near Santa 
Fe, New Mexico, and, sweeping eastward 
through the Indian Territory into Arkansas, 
thence passes into Louisiana, and, after tra- 
versing a region which is intersected by 
numerous lakes and bayous, formed by the 
overflowing of its waters, enters the Missis- 



76 



sippi about 200 miles above New Orleans. 
During 8 months of the year, steam packets 
regularly navigate it from its mouth to 
Shreveport, a distance of about 500 miles. 
The most serious obstruction to the safe navi- 
gation of the upper part of Red River, is 
what is called the Great Raft, which consists 
of an immense mass of drift wood and trees, 
which have been brought down several hun- 
dred miles by the current, and lodged here, 
obstructing the channel for a distance of 70 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 2-i. 



.s^Naou^P^f^^^ 




l^=B^^^= TUNICA.'' 



EXPLOSION OF THE LIONESS AND BLACK HAWK. 



miles. In 1835 the Government, at an ex- 
pense of $300,000, removed a great portion 
of the raft ; but since then, another has been 
formed, the lower part of which reaches with- 
in 30 miles of Shreveport. Above the raft, 
small boats can go 300 miles in seasons of 
higii water. The banks of the river are ex- 



tremely well wooded with tall trees, with 
such a wide spread that, iu some places, their 
brandies almost meet across tiie stream. As 
this river has been the scene of several sad 
steamboat accidents, we will take the liberty 
of noticing two of the most fatal. 



EXPLOSION AND BURNING OP THE LIONESS. 



" The destruction of the Lioness was caused by 
the explosion of several barrels of gunpowder, 
which weie stowed, among other freiglit, in the 
hold. The accident, tijerefore, cannot be attribut- 
ed to any defect in the steam apparatus, oi- to anv 
mismanagement thereof. The catastrophe took 
place at an early hour, on a calm and beautiful 
Sabbath morning, in May, ls3.3. Manv of the 
passengers had not left tlieir berths. The boat 
was commanded by Capt. William L. Coekeiell ; 
her place of destination was Natchitoches, on 
Red River. She had accomplished a considera- 
ble part of the voyage, and reached (he north of 
a small stream called Rageh>t Ban llieu, when, 
on the morning referred to above, the mate and 
several of the crew were arranging some part 
of the cargo in the hold; and, as the place was 
dark, they found it necessary to use a I'ghted 
candle. It is conjectured that a spark froiu the 
candle, in some way, found access to one of the 
kegs of powder; but as every person who had 
been at work in the hold was" killed bv the ex- 
plosion, the mode in which the jiowder became 
ignited could never be ascertained. It is re- 
ported that some articles of a very combustible 
nature, such as crates containing'a quantity of 



drv straw and several casks of oil, were stowed 
in dangerous proximity to the powder. It was 
stated by some of the passentrers that three dis- 
tinct explosions were heard. The fore-cabin 
the bmlerdeck. and the hold immediatelv under 
them, were literallv torn to pieces, and the frao-- 
meuts were scattered over the surroundiircr 
waters to a surprising distance. A part of thS 
hurricane deck and a portion of the ladv's cabin 
were likewise detached; and this proved to he a 
favourable circumstance, as the hull almost im- 
mediately sunk, and, in all likelihood, every 
emale on board, and manv other i)ersons, would 
have been drowned, had thevnot been sustained 
on the detached pieces of the wreck just spoken 
ot. As It was, all the women were saved • and 
the loss of life, though terrible euouffh, indeed 
was less than might have been expected, in view' 
(it all the circumstances of the disaster. The 
hull of the vessel was on tire, almost from stem 
to stern, at the time she went down. All of the 
crew and passengers who survived, saved them- 
selves by swimming, or were floated to the shore 
on fragments of the wreck. 

" By this accident, l.o persons were killed, and 
16 seriously wounded." 



EXPLOSION OF THE BLACK HAWK. 



"This awful calamity, which hurried more 
than 50 human beings I'lilo eternitv, occurred on 
a cold wintry night, in December, I'soT, while the 
Black Hawk was about to ascend the Red river, 
on her passage from Xatchez to Xatchitoclies. 
The boat had a full load of passcnuers and 
freight, including .*;liO,OoO in specie, b'elonging 
to the United States Government. She had jus\ 
reached the mouth of Red River, when the boiler 
exploded, blowing off all the upjjcr works for- 
ward of the wheels. The pilot and engineer 
were instantly killed. 

" The number of passengers on board is stated 
to have been about 100, nearly half of whom were 
women and children. No estimate of the number 
killed was ever published, but it apjiears from 
the best accounts we have that a niajoritv of the 
passengers and crew perished. A l.irge propor- 
tion of the passengers on western steamboats 
are persons from distant parts of the country, 
or emigrants, perhaps, from the old world,' 
who.se journeyings are unknown to their friends] 
and whose fate often excites no inquirv. When 
such persons are the victims of a steamboat 
calamity, their names, and frequently their 

RED RIVER ISLAND AND CUT-OFF — 
At the mouth of Red River, the Mississippi 
makes a long bend, leaving a narrow stiij) 
'.»f land between. Some years ago, a chan- 



7S 



numbers, are beyond all powers of research. So 
it ajipears to have been iu the case now under 
consideration. Instead of a list of the slain we 
are furnished only with a catalogue of \\k\u,-- 
viri,r», and these, alas ! appear to have been 
merely a forlorn remnant. Amono' the deck 
passengers, l."> were known to be lo'st, ;? others 
died soon after the explosion, 1 was observed to 
sink while attempting to swim ashore, and 12 
more were scalded s'everely, and 1.) slightlv. 
The latest and mo.st authentic account stated that 
not less than 50 persons must have perished bv 
the explosion of the Black Hawk. The crew of 
the boat suffered to a considerable extent. The 
pilot was blown overboard and lost. 

"After the explosion, the wreck, being all in 
names, floated 15 miles down the stream, and 
then sunk. Some of the passengers were taken 
off the burning wreck by a flat-boat. It is men- 
tioned that the females on board the lihick 
Hawk rendered essential service bv bailing and 
assisting to extinguish the flames". A \i^\\. of 
the cargo and .^75,oo0 in specie were saved. 
Several valuable horses, which had been shipped 
at Natchez, were drowned." 

ncl was cut across the bend, which, upon 
admitting the waters, was soon worn siiffi- 
cieiitly wide to admit the passage of the 
largest boats. From this point the Missir^- 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO 2b. 



miERLOOE, 



PROPHETS./. 



LOBDELL'S STORE.^ 




^ Bf^YOU SARA 



^PORT. HUDSON 



THOMAS' Pt. 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 26. 



''•> Baton Rocuc 




Bayou Plaquemine, 
Plaouemine til 



Bayou 



CHART OF iUSSISSIPPI. NO. 27. 



CLAYDOURNESI /^ 
OOMINICUE'S LD. .v 



ASHLAND PLANT'N. 




BAYOU LAFOURCRE 

OONALSQNVILLE 



•:' W.H. 5«W MILL 
5'' WHITE HALL PLAN'N. 



LEGEND OF PROPHET's ISLAXD. 



sippi no longer flows in one regular channel, 
but divides into several branches or ba3-ous, 
wliich wind their way through lakes and 
swamps to tlie Gulf, in courses nearlj' paral- 
lel with the parent stream. These bayous 
are spread along the river, in the order des- 
ignated on our map. They penetrate a coun- 
try of extraordinary fertility, and their banks 
are covered with rich plantations, which 
stretch along for miles in length, giving the 
appearance of a continuous village. 

RACCOURCI CUT-OFF is 4 miles below, 
and was made by the State Government in 
1848. The distance around the bend is 25 
miles, Avhile, by the Cut-ofF, it is only half a 
mile. The width of the channel is 400 j-ards, 
admitting the largest steamers. 



PORT HUDSON, La., 6 miles below, is a 
place of considerable note in shipping cotton 
and sugar. It is connected by railroad with 
the thriving town of Clinton, situated 25 
miles in the interior. A few miles below is 
a little island, to which has been given tlie 
name of 

PROPHET'S ISLAND.— There is a tradi- 
tion among the Natchez Indians, that, for 
years before the discovery of the " Great 
Waters" by the "pale-faces," their prophet, 
Mah-tou-la-ki-o, was in the habit of retiring 
to this isolated spot for the purpose of con- 
sulting the Great Spirit, and for meditation. 
It is said, that after one of his most prolonged 
visits to this place — during which time he 
partook of neither food nor drink, nor in- 



TUNICA BAYOU, at the mouth of which dulged in sleep-he returned to hia people 



is Tunica village, is opposite the Cut-off. 

"We now pass Morgan's Bend, and come to 
the tract known as 

POINT COUPEE SETTLEMENT, which 
extends several miles along the river. Most 
of the plantations are owned by descendants 
of French families, who settled here before 
Louisiana was ceded to the United States, in 
1803. The Gravd Levee, or embankment 
which protects the country from inundations, 
commences at this point. The land from 
here to the Gulf is very low, being, with 
very few exceptions, below the level of the 
river. The various cut-offs that have been 
made above, although they have shortened 
the distance by several miles, have, never- 
theless, by giving the water a more direct 
course, greatly increased its volume and 
force, and hence given a greater pressure 
against the banks of the river. From this 
cause, serious crevasses have been made in 
seasons of freshet, which have destroyed the 
crops of entire plantations, and even buried 
villages in a flood of water. The embank- 
ments, which have been erected at an im- 
mense cost, have, in a measure, protected 
the country, but are not always proof against 
the assaults of the angry stream. 

Before leaving the " Settlement," we pass 
Seven Mile Baijov and Bayou Sara. At the 
latter is the town, of the same name, which 
is employed mostly in shipping cotton. 

WATERLOO, La., is a small town on the 
opposite siiore, and is beautifully surrounded 
witii rich plantations. 



82 



with a sorrowful countenance, and told them 
that they must soon leave their homes and 
the graves of their fathers, and seek for 
hunting-grounds in a strange, far-off land. 
He told them he had seen troops of warriors 
whose hearts were of stone, whose skins 
were of iron, (suits of armor,) and whose 
arrows were thunderbolts tipped with fire. 
Tall, gigantic canoes, he had seen, .some with 
Avings as white and as broad as the clouds of 
summer, and others belcliiug forth fire and 
smoke, and cleaving the waters as the arrow 
cleaves the air. The wondering but incredu- 
lous chiefs listened with attention to the 
marvellous recital of their prophet, but shook 
their heads when he counselled immediate, or 
even future removal. Full of faith in his sup- 
posed vision, and discouraged and disheart- 
ened by the refusal of his people to consider 
his warning, the prophet retired from the 
eouneil-fires of his tribe, and betook himself 
again to the seclusion of his favourite island. 
An absence of much longer duration than 
had ever occurred before, led to a search for 
him on the island, and here his body was 
found, cold and lifeless, lying upon the 
ground, with the face downwards, and the 
hands outspread, as thougli he had died in 
the very attitude of prayer to the Great 
Spirit to avert the calamities that threatened 
to overwhelm them. For the accuracy of 
this story, we cannot vouch, but we give it 
to our readers as it was given to us. If 
true, it proves the old adage that a prophet 
is without honour in his own country. 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI, NO. 28. 



5T JAMES 1.] 



^^AScU^m 




BONNCTOUARBE CH 



83 



EXPLOSION OF THE PRIXCESS. 



EXPLOSION OF THE STEA:yfER PROCESS. 



On Sunday, February 27, 1859, one of the 
most appalling catastrophes that has ever 
happened, on the Mississippi, occurred in this 
neighbourhood. The steamer Princess, with 
400 jiassengers on board, was on her down- 
ward trip to New Orleans. "When opposite 
Conrad's Point, near Baton Rouge, her boil- 
ers exploded, setting fire to the vessel, and 
burning her to the water's edge. It was re- 
ported that the chief engineer, who was cut 
completely in two by the explosion, had de- 
clared that the boat should reach New Or- 
leans by a certain hour, or be blown up. It 
is certain that an unusual pressure of steam 
was on at the time of the explosion, the boat 
having been detained by fog, and conse- 
quently, being a little behind time. By this 
frightful accident, 200 persons were hurried 
into eternity, and over 100 shockingly 
wounded, many of whom subsequently died, 
while others will bear, for years to come, 
sad evidences of this lamentable occurrence. 
The steamer Natchez, which was, fortu- 
nately, near by, was soon alongside the Prin- 
cess, and her passengers and crew assisted in 
rescuing the wounded, and removing the 
bodies of the dead, from the burning boat. 

In considering the consequences of this 
calamity, one cannot help anathematizing 
that heartless recklessness that would bal- 
ance hundreds of human lives against a few 
hours' time. Here was a large, safe and 
elegant boat, acknowledged to be one of the 
finest on the Mississippi, fitted out with all 
the modern improvements necessary to in- 
sure the comfort and safety of her passen- 
gers, and freighted with a valuable cargo, 
and — what was of immenselj- more worth, 
with 400 human beings, a large proportion 
of whom were ladies, and who were all 
pacing the decks of the beautiful steamer 
with joyous delight at their near approach 
to New Orleans, whither many were espe- 
cially bound, in expectation of joining in the 
gayeties of the Carnival week — here, we say, 
was every thing that could be desired, in 
order to warrant a safe and happy termina- 
tion of the voyage, completely nullified by 
the recklessness of one man, who, to save a 
few hours' time, risks his own fife, and the 
lives of those who, in their simple confidence, 



had thrown themselves upon his judgment 
and mercy, in the humble belief that he 
would hold their lives at a rate somethin-J' 
above a few tickings of his watch. 



84 



BATON ROUGE, 12 mUes below Thomp 
son's Point, and 129 miles above New Or- 
leans, is the capital of Louisiana. It is pleas- 
antly situated on the last bluff seen in 
descending the river, and is about 40 feet 
above the highest water-mark. Baton Rouge 
has the reputation of being the healthiest 
town on the lower valley of the Mississippi. 
The esplanade in front of the town presents 
a delightful view of the river, and the rich 
tracts of cultivation which line its banks. 
Since the seat of government was established 
here, in 1847, the improvements of the town 
have increased with wonderful rapidity, and 
its beautiful State House, its 5 or 6 churches, 
the United States arsenal and barracks, and 
several other public buildings, together with 
the singular-shaped French and Spanish 
houses of its inhabitants, all make a picture 
of interest to the admirers of towns built in 
the compoiite style. 

From this city to New Orleans, the broad 
and deep river sweeps through a country of 
unsurpassed luxuriance. On either side are 
seen immense plantations of sugar-cane, and 
large groves of tropical fruit trees, inter- 
spersed with splendid villas and richly-culti- 
vated gardens, which reminds the voyager 
of the tales he has read of the magnificence 
of Oriental scenerj''. 

WEST BATON ROUGE is a small settle- 
ment on the opposite side of the river. 

MANCHAC, 15 miles below Bat(m Rouge, 
is a small town, situated at the mouth of a 
bayou of the same name. 

PLAQUEMINE, 8 miles below the last- 
named place, is also a settlement named after 
the bayou upon which it is located. This 
bayou is navigable for some miles, and its 
banks are covered with rich sugar and cotton 
plantations. 

BAYOU GOULE is 20 miles be3'ond, and 
has a small settlement near its mouth. 

BAYOU LA FOURCHE. 14 miles below, 
is one of the largest indentations on the Mis- 
sissippi. It is very thickly settled by some 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 29. 




85 



DONALDSVILLE TO NEW ORLEANS. 



of the richest planters in the State, and its 
■naters are navigable for a distance of 60 
miles. 

DONALDSVILLE is just below Bayou La 
Fourche. It is a fine town, containing about 
1,200 inhabitants, and was formerly the capi- 
tal of the State. 

We now sail a distance of '75 miles, without 
passing a town of any pretensions as to size ; 
but the banks of the river are lined with 
objects of interest to the tourist. The ex- 
treme fertilitj- of this region, and the long 
succession of splendid plantations which con- 
stantly greet the ej-e, with the numerous 
gaiig^ of negroes seen at work on either 
side, give to this portion of the river a co- 
louring of more than usual brightness. Every 
tiling appears to be tinged with a golden 
hue. It seems as though the spectator was 
gazing upon a grand panorama of poetical 
conceptions, rather than of actual realities ; 
and, if he is at all rurally inclined, he is apt 
to heave an occasional sigh, and wish that 
fate had cast his lot among these pleasant 
places. 

CARROLLTON, 1 miles above New Or- 
leans, is a beautiful place, and, in a certain 
sense, may be called the " Hoboken " of the 
great city, to which it is immediately con- 
nected by a railroad. The Carrollton Gar- 
dens are superior, in point of beauty, taste 
and variety of scenery, to the famed " Elysian 
Fields," where New Yorkers delight so much 
to congregate, although perhaps somewhat 
inferior in extent, and in that bold, natural 
loveliness for which the latter are so highly 
esteemed. At the " Gardens," consummate 
art has aided nature in the production of an 
earthly Eden ; while at the " Fields," nature 
has been left to do pretty much all the work 
herself, and, it must be confessed, what she 
has done, she has done well. 

LAFAYETTE CITY, 5 miles below Car- 
rollton, is but a continuation of New Orleans. 
The railroad from Carrollton to New Orleans 
passes through it. A steam ferry runs to the 
opposite shore, and another to New Orleans. 
Population 5,000. 

Having reached the end of our long and, 
we trust, pleasant journey, we will, before 



cities, which, although not lying immediately 
on our route, are, nevertheless, most inti- 
mately connected with the trade and com- 
merce of the Mississippi, and especially iden- 
tified with the business interests of New Or- 
leans. Foremost among these are, Cincinnati, 
Ohio ; Wheeling, Virginia ; and Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania — all situated on the Ohio River. 
The trafiic between these cities and New Or- 
leans is immense, and is annually increasing 
in a ratio greater than the growth of their 
several populations. At these three porta 
all the trade and travel, of the vast regions 
lying east and west of the Ohio River, natu- 
rally centre before proceeding south ; and it 
is in consequence of their great commercial 
importance, as connected with the Lower Mis- 
sissippi, that we append to this volume brief 
descriptions of each, together with such en- 
gravings of public buildings, etc., as will be 
apt to interest the general reader. 

We also include a notice of the City of 
Baltimore, Marj-jand, in our pages, as being 
intimately connected with the Mississippi 
trade, although in an indirect manner. A 
very large part of the traffic and travel be- 
tween the North-eastern States and the Mis- 
sissippi River is carried on via Baltimore, 
which, from its geographical position, is ad- 
mirably adapted as a channel of communi- 
cation between these two sections of country, 
being connected by continuous lines of rail- 
roads with the Atlantic coast, the lakes, and 
the Ohio River. 

Charleston, South Carolina, is worthy of 
being noticed in connection with the trade 
of New Orleans, althougli Ijing on the At- 
lantic coast, many hundred miles aWay. 
Being connected with the Mississippi by a 
long chain of railroads which terminate at 
Memphis, Tennessee, Charleston is a natural 
outlet for large quantities oi produce bound 
for exportation, and for north-eastern ports. 
Lines are also in progress, which, when com- 
pleted, will connect this city with Kew Or- 
leans. 

The engravings which we give, of the most 
important objects of interest in the cities we 
have named, will be found to be faithfully 
correct, many of them being executed from 



we enter into a description of New Orleans, | photographs taken bj- most experienced ar- 
say a few words in reference to those remote I tists. 



86 



CHART OF MISSISSIPPI. NO. 30. 




87 



NEW" ORLEANS. 



FEW OELEANS, (THE CRESCENT CITY.) 

The city of Xew Orleans forms the great commercial capital of the southern states, and 
occupies the position of the greatest cotton market in the world. 

" The city is built around a bend in the river, from which circumstance it has been de- 
nominated the ' Crescent City.' The site inclines gently from the margin of the Mississippi 
towards the marshy ground in the rear, and is from 2 to 6 feet below the level of the river 
at the usual spring /reshets. To prevent inundations, an embankment or levee, about 15 
feet wide and 6 feet high has been raised, extending 120 miles above the city, and to Port 
Plaquemine, 43 miles below it This forms a delightful promenade. In consequence of the 
change in the course of the river opposite New Orleans, large quantities of alluvium, swept 
from the north and held in suspension bj' the current, are here deposited. New formations 
from this cause, in front of that portion of the quay most used for the purposes of com- 
merce, have been so rapid that it has been necessary, within a few years, to build piled 
wharves jutting out from 50 to 100 feet into the Mississippi. The levee here has also been 
gradually widened, so that an additional block of warehouses has been erected between 
the city and the river during the past year. 

" Here may be seen what New Orleans was before the application of steam to navigation. 
Hundreds of long, narrow, black, dirty-looking, crocadile-like rafts lie sluggishly, without 
moorings, upon the soft batture, and pour out their contents upon the quay — a heterogeneous 
compound of the products of the Upper Mississippi and its tributaries. There are rafts, or 
flat-boats, as they are technically called, each frequently carrying cargoes valued at from 
$3,000 to $15,000. Twenty years ago, and these were the only craft on the river! nor 
has their number been decreased since the introduction of the steamboat. Not less charac- 
teristic of New Orleans is the landing of the latter class of craft. The quay is here all ac- 
tion, and the very water is covered with life. Huge vessels float upon its bosom, which 
acknowledge none of the powers of air, and wait no tide. One is weighed down to the guards 
with cotton, a freight of 3,000 bales — $180,000 ! Twenty more lie side by side laden with the 
same commodity. Huge piles, bale upon bale, story above story, cover the levee. Pork 
without end, as if the Ohio had emptied its lap at the door of New Orleans; and flour by 
the thousand barrels rolled out upon the quaj' and heaped up — a large area is covered with 
these two products of the up-countrj-, and still appears seemingly undiminished, although 
the seller, the buyer, and drayman are busy in the midst of it. Here is a boat freighted 
with lead from Galena, and another brings furs and peltry from the head waters of tiie 
Missouri, 3,000 miles to the north-west ! The Illinois, the Ohio, the Missouri, the Arkansas, 
and Red River, all are tributaries to this commercial depot, and send down to its wharves 
merchantable material of the annual value of $100,000,000, more or less. Nearly 20,000 
miles of inland navigation is tributary to this city. The quay appropriated to the foreign 
and coastwise shipping presents another and a different scene. Here the cotton bale, 
tobacco hogshead, pork and flour barrel, and the whisky cask, yield to bales of foreign and 
domestic manufactures, pipes of wine, and crates of wares. The shipping stretches away 
as fiir as the eye can reach, two miles or more in extent, three tiers deep, witjj their heads 
to the current curving with tlie river— a beautiful crescent. The English, the French, the 
Spanish, the Dane, the Russian, the Swede, the Hollander, etc., are here commingled, and 
compete for the commerce of the teeming West. The old city proper, originally laid out by 
the French, is in the form of a pai-allelogram, 1320 yards long and 700 yards wide. Above 
this are what were formerly the faubourgs of St. Mary, Annunciation, and La Course ; be- 
low, Marigny, Dounois, and Declouet ; and in the rear, Treme and St John's. Lafayette, 
till recently under a separate government, is immediatelj- above the city. lu 1836, New 
Orleans was divided into three municipalities by act of the assembly, each with distinct 
municipal powers. Agaiti in April, 1852, these and Lafayette, with the faubourgs and 
other dependencies, extending from 6 to 7 miles along the river, and about 5 miles back to 
Lake Pontchartrain, were consolidated under one charter, the city assuming the debts. 

88 



a^g^ 1; ill ,ii,ili;;l! a li,. ijiv 



iv\ ?! I!li,' 




rHE FEEXCH CATHEDRAL, NEW ORLEANS. 




THE FRENCH CATHEDRAL, NEW ORLEANS. 



The streets of New Orleans are of convenient breadth, well paved, and usually intersect 
each other at right angles. Canal street, (of which we give an illustration,) is the broadest 
street in the city, being over 100 feet in width, with a grass plot in the centre about 
feet ^s'lde, extending throughout its entire length. Most of the buildings are con- 
structed of brick, and are generally low, except in the business portion, where they 
are usually 5 or 6 stories high. Many of the. dwellings in the suburbs, particu- 
larly in Lafayette, are surrounded with spacious yards, beautifully decorated with 
the orange, lemon, magnolia, and other ornamental trees. A basement about G feet high 
constitutes the only cellar, as none are sunk below the surface on account of the marshy 
character of the ground. In different sections of tlie city are several public square, 
among which may be mentioned Jackson Square, formerly Place d'Arn^es, occupyin.. the 
centre of the river front of the old town plot, now the First District. It is ornamented 
with shell walks, shrubbery, statuettes, etc., and is much frequented for recreation. La- 
%-ette Square, in the Second District, is finely laid out, and adorned with a profusion of 
shade trees. Congo Square, in the rear of the city, is also a handsome enclosure 

" Public Bu,LD>Nc;s.-The United States Custom House, now in process of erection at New 
Orleans, when completed, will be the largest building in the United States, with the excep- 
lion of the Capitol at Washington, covering an area of 87,233 superficial feet The mate- 
rial IS from the Quincy quarries of Massachusetts. The United States Branch Mint in New 
Orleans, is at the corner of Esplanade and New Levee streets, near the river The Muni- 
cipal Ilall, at the corner of St. Charles and Hevia streets, opposite Lafayette Square, is a 
beautifu marble edifice in the Grecian style of architecture. It is principallj. occupied 
with public offices, among which are several of the city government The Odd Fellows- 
Hall, erected in 1851, on Camp street, opposite Lafayette Square, and the Mercb.-.nf.> v- 

90 



NEW ORLEANS. 

change, on Royal street, near Canal, are both extensive buildings, chiefly devoted to public 
use. The latter contains the City Post-office and Merchants' Reading Room. 

" Many of the churches are large and costly structures. The Church of St. Louis, opposite 
Jackson Square, is a splendid edifice, adorned xvitli a lofty tower on either side of the main 
entrance. The building was erected in 1850, on the site of the old cliurch, which was 
pulled down. (See engraving.) It was originally founded in 1792, by Don Audre, on the 
condition that masses be offered every Saturday evening for the repose of his soul, and the 
tollino- of tlie bell at sunset on that day still proclaims the observance of the custom. On 
the rifht and left of this edifice are two handsome buildings in the Tuscan and Doric 
orders, devoted to various purposes of the city government. The Jewish Synagogue, 
formerly the Canal Street Episcopal Church, is ornamented in front with a handsome colon- 
nade. The Presbyterian Church, opposite Lafayette Square, the new Episcopal church, 
on Canal street, and St. Patrick's Church, on Camp street, are elegant edifices, each 
adorned with a graceful spire. The latter is a conspicuous object to one approaching the 
city from the river. Of the 38 churches in the city, in 1853, 12 'are Roman Catholic, 7 
Ep'lscopal, 6 Presbyterian, 5 Methodist, 3 Lutheran, 2 Baptist, and 3 Jewish synagogues. 

" The hotels of New Orleans are conducted upon a scale of magnitude scai-cely equalled 
in any city of the Union. The city contains 4 or 5 theatres, the principal of which are the 
St. Charles, the Orleans, or French Theatre, and the American. At the Orleans Theatre the 
dramatic representations arc in French. Among the most remarkable bank edifices may be 
mentioned the City Bank, on Toulouse street ; Canal Bank, on Magazine street ; and the 
Bank of Louisiana. Several of the market-houses are deserving of notice. St. Mary's 
Market, in the Second District, is 480 feet long, and 42 feet wide. The Meat Market, oa 
the Levee, and Washington Market, in the Third District, are also extensive buildings. 
The cotton presses of New Orleans, about 20 in number, are objects of much interest, each 
of which usually occupies an entire block. The centre building of the New Orleans cot- 
ton press is three stories high, and surmounted by a dome, the summit of which commands 
a fine view of the city. Not less than 150,000 bales of cotton, on an average, are annually 
pressed at this establishment. 

" Institutions. — The benevolent institutions of New Orleans are among the most extensive 
and best conducted in the United States. The literary and educational institutions, many 
of which have been recently established, are for the most part in a highly prosperous 
condition. 

" The number of school-houses in the city (as appears from the mayor's message) is 40, at- 
tended by 16,886 pupils. The increase in the number of pupils for the last 12 months has 
been 2094, equal to 23.9 per cent. Number of teachers, 216. Of the 30 school-houses, 17 
bolont' to the city, and 23 are rented. The amount appropriated for school purposes the 
past year was $188,020. 

" About 20 newspapers are published in the city, 9 or 10 of which are dailies. Several are 
printed in the French language. 

" Commerce. — New Orleans possessses unrivalled natural advantages for internal trade. 
The Mississipjii River and its tributaries aft'ord not less than 15,000 miles of navigable wa- 
ters, communicating with a vast extent of country, illimitable in its resources, exhaustless 
in fertility, and embracing nearly every variety of clim?ite. Every description of craft is 
employed in transporting the rich products of the upper regions of the " Fatlier of Waters" 
to this ereat southern emporium. At one portion of its levee may be seen hundreds of 
fiat-boats ijrounded on the " batture," and filled, some with fat cattle, horses, mules, hogs, 
and sheep ; others with hay, corn, potatoes, butter, cheese, apples, and cider. The quay 
here is piled with lumber, pork, flour, and every variety of agricultural produce, as if the 
Great Valley liad emptied its treasures at the door of New Orleans. 

"The total value of American produce exported from New Orleans during the year, ac- 
cording to the custom-iiouse records, was $66,344,569, of which amount, $48,076,197 was 
to furei^n countries, and $28,268,327 coastwise. The value of foreign merchandise ex- 
ported during tlie same period, was $44,780, making a sura total of $76,389,349. 

91 



CEMETERY, NEW ORLEAXS. 




A\E.\UE IN THE CEMETERY, NEW ORLEANS, 

WITH SEPULCHEES ABOVE GROUND. 



MI^/CH7-PA rr^Fiso.v.sc. 



tenet n'^^anTn, "• ""'' '^ "^^"^^^^^ "^^^«"* --« -«- «f ^ts ceme- 

te es, n.a„ of Inch are unique m plan and method of interment. 'Each is enclosed 
.vith a bnck wall of arched cavitie., (or ovens, as they are here called,) made CTZl 
enough o adm,t a single coffin, and raised tier upon tier, to a height of about tw Ive ^t 
w th a h.ckness of en. The whole inclosure is divided into plats, with gravelled path. 

ntersectrng each other at right angles, and is densely covered .-ith ton;bs built wholh- 
above ground, and from one to three stories high. This method of sepulture is adopted 
from necessity, and burial under ground is never attempted, exceptin! ia the '• PotL's 
Fie d .,.ere the stmnger without friends and the poor without inone.rfind an un! 1 

e. tl. water with wh.ch the soil is always saturated, often forcing th; coffin and its con- 
ent. out of Its narrow and shallow cell, to rot with no other covering than the arch of 

Above we give an illustration of one of the avenues in the Cemeterv, engraved from a 
photograph taken there last year, showing the sepulchres above ground ^ 

"Algiers, a flourishing village, or rather suburb of Kew Orleans, is situated opposite to 

intro?ucrrf ^"\^"P;«^-?^*° !^S^'* ''''' ^''y "^ 1«-"^ ' --1 ^^--g the same year, water was 
introduced from the Mississippi. It is raised from the river by steam to an elevated res- 
ervoir, whence five or sLx millions of gallons are daily distributed to various parts of the 

" From its low situation and warm climate, New Orleans is subject to annual visitations 



NEW ORLEANS. 

of the yellow fever, which liave had the effect of greatly retarJing tiie growth and pros- 
perity of the place. Statistical tables show that of those wlio are born and reared in tlie 
city, as large a proportion live to old age as of the -inhabitants of other places that are 
gtiierally deemed healthj-. But the yellow fever is particularly fatal to the unacclimated, 
and especially so to those who have been from" infancy accustomed to a northern climate. 
This circumstance operates as a formidable check on the influx of strangers, to which our 
great commercial cities owe so large a proportion of their population and activity. Du- 
ring the winter and spring, New Orleans may be regarded as a healthful residence for all, 
whether natives or strangers ; and hopes were enteitained that with the improvements in 
the sanitar}' regulations, there would be a gradual and steady advance in tlie health of the 
city during the waim months ; but the past year has disaiipointed those hopes, the epi- 
demic having appeared in a form as malignant as it is in general. Its introduction, how- 
ever, it is said can be traced to an infected vessel from South America, where a fever of an 
unusually fatal character has prevailed. 

" Perhaps no citj- of the Union is so diversified in its population. The sunny isles of the 
Antilles, Mexico, Central America and South America, France, and Spain, and the other 
States of Europe, and the sister States northward, have each representatives among the in- 
liabitants. The colored races, however, preponderate, and slave or free make up one-half 
at least. Of the white races, the American, French, and Spanish constitute the larger por- 
tion, and in these classes are found what may be denominated the aristocracj-. The Irish 
here, as in other quarters, though forming a large class, are but " the hewers of wood and 
drawers of water" — the laborers and levee-men, respectable only on election day, and 
among themselves. The English and Scotch srre few in proportion, and are chiefly con- 
nected with the foreign commerce, as merchants or foctors, seldom remaining'longer in the 
city than is necessary for the transaction of their particular business; or remaining only 
during the healthy months of spring and winter. This admixture of races is in some degree 
embarrassing; so many languages, various customs and manners, and in habits so different, 
no thorough amalgamation can take place ; and it is even necessary to support newspapers 
and periodicals of different languages, each of which, in its opinions and ideas, is at variance 
with the other. 

" New Orleans is famous in history as the place designated to become the seat of the mon- 
archy intended to have been established by the treason of Aaron Burr. During tlie month 
of January, 1804, the citizens were in a state of continual alarm: volunteer companies and 
other troops constantly patrolled the streets, ready to suppress the first attempt at insur- 
rection. That year it was made a port of entry, and the next (1805) New Orleans was in- 
corporated as a city. The population is estimated at 175,000. 

" Distance from New Orleans to the mouth of the Mississippi, 100 miles. Southwest from 
New Ycrk, 1663 miles. Southwest from Washington, U37 miles. Southwest by west from 
Charleston, 779 miles. South southwest from Pittsburg, 2025 miles. South by west from 
Chicago, 1628 miles. South from St. Louis, 1200 miles. South by east from St. Anthony's 
Falls, Minnesota, 2000 miles." 

93 



if III' J jr. 




CINCINJSTATI. 



CINCINNATI, THE QUEEN CITY OF THE WEST. 

After leaving the seaboard, no city in the United States is likely to snrprise the stranger 
BO much as Cincinnati. From an account of Dr. Charles Mackay's visit to it last year, we 
expected to find in it another Pittsburg (Pennsylvania) or Manchester (England) for 
smoke; and on proceeding from the "Forest City" (Cleveland) we looked forward to find- 
ing Cincinnati under a cloud, with the anticipation of unpleasant odours from its famed 
pork-killing establishments. On our entering the city, by the Little Miami A^'allej' railroad, 
the beauty of that line was only excelled by the charming view presented as the train crept 
round the curves, opening to view the exquisitely beautiful scenery of the Ohio, both on 
the Kentucky and Ohio side of the river. Our visit to Cincinnati, therefore, in July last, 
was one of unmingled pleasurable disappointment; with a blazing sun overhead, all 
vegetation in its gayest attire, and not a particle of smoke to be seen, excepting from a 
solitary steamer, perhajis, getting ready for its voyage to Louisville or the Mississippi. 

Ascending to the top of Mount Adams, to get a view of the city and surrounding country, 
we looked in vain for smoke ; so that should the gifted author of " Voices from the 
Crowd" pay his friend Nicholas Longworth another visit at Cincinnati, and that any time 
during the spring or summer months, he will, we think, leave it with a different impres- 
sion, and similar to what he experienced in the cities visited, where the total absence from 
smoke formed one of the peculiarities of American city life. 

As may be well known, Cincinnati is the most populous city of the Western States, and 
the fifth in size and importance throughout the union. It is beautifully situated in a valley 
of about 13 miles in circumference, with the Ohio River intersecting it from the State of 
Kentucky, environed by a range of hills, thus forming a beautiful basin with one portion 
of the city in the centre, but. the greater part of it rising by terraces, on Avhich Third and 
Fourth streets form two of the most prominent. For 3 miles, at least, the city extends along- 
side of the river, that portion being lined, for the most part, with stores and shipping- 
places of business,, and where from 30 to 40 steamers may be seen engaged in the river 
traffic, sailing up the river to Pittsburg, 460 miles, and down to ports on the Mississippi, 
650 miles distant, carrying, for the most part, goods, but that only when the state of the 
river permits, and business affords sufficient traffic. Both in the city and in the vicinity 
some elegant private residences are to be seen, but more particularly in tlie suburbs of 
such as Mount Auburn, where there are some beautiful country seats, with vineries in the 
open air attached to each. 

One of the finest public buildings of Cincinnati is the Court House, an immense block of 
buildings built of white marble, but, to a certain extent, obscured from being seen to great 
advantage, on account of the other buildings being built in too close proximity with it. 

In churches Cincinnati can boast of having as fine samples as are to be found in the 
West. 

Its literary, educational, scientific, and medical colleges and institutions, rank with any 
thing in the United States; in fact, from the public school up to the most advanced literary 
and scientific association, Cincinnati is excelled, we believe, by no other city. 

Tlie Mechanics' Institute, for example, occupies a prominent place amongst the many valu- 
able institutions with which Cincinnati has great cause to be proud of It is a large, square, 
massive building, built in the Elizabethan style, on the corner of Sixth and A^'ine streets. 
Its library contains 15,000 volumes, besides having, in an adjoining department, an excel- 
lent selection of newspapers and periodicals. It is under the management of the Central 
Board of the Trustees .^nd Visitors of Common Schools, two delegates from each ward in 
the city being part of the management. Rufus King, Esq., a name well known in America, 
is president. 

At present it numbers 4323 members. Average delivery of books during the last 7 
months, over 6500 volumes per month. Total circulation for 7 months, 35,000 volumes. 
At the last time when the books were called in for revision, only 8 volumes were wanting 

1)5 



mechanics' institute and mercantile library. 

out of a total circulation of 37,000 volumes, a fact ■which speaks -well for both members 
and management. Even this small number missing was made up by the parties who had 
become security for those who had got out the books. All young men under age, and not 
known, are required to get a guarantee from a known citizen, who becomes responsible 
for any loss the institution may sustain, bj' giving out books to such party applying for 
them. 

The library is made up of the books formerly belonging to the Public School Library 
and Mechanics' Institution, now joined into one librar)'. From the State, it now — from its 
connection with the Public School Library — receives $8000 annually. 

The terms of admission to all are — free. 

It may appear almost invidious to mention the name of any one donor to this noble in- 
stitution, but we think that Mr. Greenwood's beneficence should be well known, if for no 
other reason, than that others in different parts, may imitate liis example. Besides many 
subscriptions to the institution, and all along taking an active part in its establishment and 
welfare, he was, we believe, the principal means of preventing the institution from going 
down. Amongst its difficulties, it was due Mr. Greenwood no less a sum than $18,000 
(£3,600 stg.) for material he had supplied to the building, etc., from his foundry. That 
entire sum he made them a present o/", from which date, the institution has spread its benefits 
all around, and engraven the name of Miles Greenwood indelibl}' in connection with its 
history, and that of the welfaT'e of the working classes. 

Again, we may notice another of the reading-rooms and libraries in the city, worthy of 
all commendation, viz.: tlie Young Men's Mercantile Library and Reading-room, in Walnut 
street. On one floor of a building 140 feet long, by 100 wide, there will be found a library 
of 19,000 volumes, in all the departments of literature, occupying fully one-half of the 
apartments In tlie other end of it there will be found the best assortment of newspapers, 
magazines, and periodicals we have seen anywhere. The natives of almost any part of the 
world will tliere find the paper of his own neighbourhood. Of course the Thunderer of 
Printing-House square (London) will be found there on regular file. On the opposite frames — 
the Scotsman — the worthy representative of " Auld Reekie," (Edinburgh, Scot.,) and the 
Dublin Evening Post and Nation, of Ireland, take tlieir stand ; tlie Welshmen are repre- 
sented in the Carnarvon Herald; the Frenchmen, with the Journal des Debats, La Presse, 
Charivari, L' Illustration, and Galignani ; the Germans, with Zeituvc/s plenty; tlie Austra- 
lian, with the Melbourne Argus ; whilst the United States is represented with sheets of all 
sorts and sizes, from ihiine to California, and not forgetting the well-printed sheet of the 
Pioneer and Democrat, all the way from §t. Paul, Minnesota. Canada papers are also found 
in abundance. In going over this room, and seeing such a host of London weekly papers, 
and monthly magazines and quarterly reviews from England, Scotland, and Ireland, a 
stranger from Great Britain is apt to fancy himself in some of the Exchange reading rooms 
of Liverpool, Manchester, or Glasgow, or the Waterloo News Rpoms in Edinburgh, rather 
than on the banks of the Ohio. 

The quarto and imperial weekly sheets are secured to tables across the room, at which 
parties may sit and read, some of the most popular London weekly papers showing good 
evidence of being well perused. The tattered and torn appearance which the Illustrated 
London News, and that philosophic, philanthropic, and stinging little sinner Punch pre- 
sented, showed that thej' afford as great a treat to the numerous readers there, as these 
two publications do in enriching the coffers of some American publishers, who depend largely 
upon them for their excellent illustrations, as, no sooner do they reach this side of the At- 
lantic, than they are reproduced without the slightest acknowledgtpent as to their source, 
far less in a pecuniary respect. 

The magazines are all numbered, and can be taken and read in any part of the building. 
After perusal they are returned to their proper pigeon-holes in the desk, where they re- 
main open for perusal. 

The library contains 19,000 volumes. Tlie reading-room, 240 different newspapers, and 
120 magazines and reviews are received as soon as possible after publication. 

9G 



THIRD STREET, CINCINNATI, 

The terms of entry are only $3 (I'is. stg.), with $1 entry-money. 

At present it numbers 3000 members. 

The reading-room is most comfortably litted up. On the floor, for example, there is a 
magnificent tapestry carpet, and the newspapers mounted on elegant iron frames of chaste 
design. Altogether, it appears a model institution of the kind, and we congratulate the 
Young Men's Mercantile Library Association in having such an institute. 

We had forgot to mention, that the library is adorned with a beautiful marble statue of 
" Sabrina," and another of " Eve listening to the Voice," as well as busts of some of Amer- 
ica's most accomplished public men. 

In one respect, this institution differs from any of the kind we have seen in Britain, viz., 
that of ladies visiting the reading-room, and perusing the books, newspapers, and periodi- 
cals, with apparently great interest, besides forming a large proportion of the visitors to 
the Young Men's Library, for books. 




The finest wholesale stores in the city arc situated on Pearl street, where they arrest at- 
tention, from their solid stone built appearance, and general excellent design. Tiie other 
principal streets for the wholesale trade, are, "Walnut street. Main street, and Public landr 
ing, from which tens of thousands of dollars' worth of goods change hands weekly. 

97 



NEW MASONIC TEMPLE, CINCINNATI. 

Tliird street forms also one of the finest streets of the city. At the corner of Third and 
Walnut street, the Masonic Temple \rill stand, when completed (see our engraving of the 
same). In Third street, are situated the gi-eater proportion of tlie banking houses and 
offices of the exchange brokers and lawyers in the city. The buildings there also being 
characterized by that solid magnificence, which well cut and tastefully designed architec- 
ture always portrays. Our view of Third street, as given in the preceding page, repre- 
sents some of the finest buildings in the street, the first one on the left hand, being the 
premises built and occupied by the celebrated Ohio Life and Trust Company-, a banking 
institution, which failed in 1857. 




This splendid structure, an engraving of which we present, is one of the most striking 
buildings j-et erected, we believe, in the United States, and will show more strongly, than per- 
haps any other we could have selected, the amazing rapidity of growth of the western cities 
of America. On the site where this Masonic temple rears its commanding form, among other 
costly and palatial stone edifices, in the business centre of the " queen city" of the West, 
men, still in the vigour of life, assure astonished strangers that they can remember when, 
nn the very spot occupied by these palaces, the primitive log-huts of the first settlers were 
embedded in liie forest ! 

The Nova Cesaria Harmony Lodge, No. 2, under whose auspices this temple is being 
erected, was instituted in 1794, and is the oldest lodge in Cincinnati. The ground was 

98 



XEW i\rASONIC TEMPLE AXD FOURTH STREET, CINCIXXATI. 

donated lij' "Wm. Me^Iillaii — now dccf'iised. As a linildinrj desiirned expressly for Masonic 
uses, it is a question, if, not only in America but in Europe, any temple of tlie kind has 
heretofore been erected more complete and convenient in its arrangements, or richer in 
graceful and symbolic architecture, than the one now under notice. 

It is being erected entirely of the beautiful freestone, for which Cincinnati is so celebrate<l, 
and stands on the north-east comer of Third and Walnut streets, occupying a frontage on 
Third street of 200 feet, and 100 feet on AValnut street. The style is Byzantine, e.\hibiting 
strongly those bold and massive features so characteristic of many of the best buildings of 
northern Italy. It will be 4 stories iiigh, with a basement, and flanked bj^ three lofty tow- 
ers ; the one at the corner of Third and Walnut streets being 32 feet square at the base, and 
ISo feet from the base to the vane. In the centre of this tower, on the tliinl stor}', and fac- 
ing Third street, is a niche designed to receive a life-size statue of W. McMillan, the liberal 
donor of the property. The u]>per portion of the tower will have a large town clock, with 
4 illuminated dials 1 feet diameter, which will be visible on each face of the tower from a 
great distance. The first floor, as well as basement, will be used for banking houses an^l 
exchange brokers, the second floor for business offices, while the third and fourth floors are 
devoted exclusively to Masons and Masonic meetings. On the third floor, which is 18 
feet 6 inches high, are the chapter room, the library, (lit by a projecting Oriel window,) 
royal and select council room, a spacious lianquet room, an encampment asj'lum. a royal 
arch chapter room, and a Persian court, all for the use of the knights and templars. At 
the western portion of this floor, and facing Third and Wabnit streets, a commodious suite 
of rooms form the residence of the janitor, isolated from tlie remainder of the Iniilding, but 
in convenient juxtaposition. The fourth story, which is 22 feet high, is subdivided into 3 
splendid lodge rooms for the entered apprentices, fellow-crafts, and master-masons of X, 
C. Harmony Lodge, Xo. 2, and a grand lodge room designed for use only on extraordinary 
occasions. This fine room is 70 feet long, 42 feet 4 inches wide, and 28 feet in height, lit 
by the large and beautiful rose window which forms so conspicuoiw a feature on the Wal- 
nut-street elevation. The attitude of the temple will be 85 feet from the pavement to the 
cornice, 105 feet to the ridge of the mof, and 112 feet to the cornice of the great tower. 
The roof is a Mansard shape, terminated where visible, by a rich iron railing, and having 
its surface relieved by seven picturesque dormer windows. Tlie entire cost is estimated at 
$150,000 (£30,000 stg.). 

The architects of this building — wliieh reflects the highest credit upon their artistic taste 
and skill — are Messrs. Hamilton and McLaughlin, whose cards will be found elsewhere. 
Mr. McLaughlin is still a resident of Cincinnati, but Mr. Hamilton (formerly of London) has 
recently removed to Xew York. The engraving, given in another page, has been exe- 
cuted for this work, by two young and very promising wood engravers in Cincinnati, 
Messrs. Davenport and Thompson, and we have onh' to refer to tliis specimen of their 
work, to show what they can do, for them to be entrusted with drawings of the most 
intricate character, as the foregoing view was engraved from the architect's drawing, and 
the manner in which thej- have preserved every detail correctly, reflects great credit upon 
their ability as first-class engravers. 

■ In our engraving of Fourth street, will be seen a representation of some of the finest blocks 
in the city, and among the many s]>leu<lid stores with which it abounds, none show to more 
advantage than the magnificent jewellery establishment of Messrs. Duhme & Co., situated 
in Carlisle Block, corner of Fourth and Walnut streets (the first large block to the left in 
the engraving on the next page.) This establishment rivals, in that particular depart- 
ment, any thing in Xew York, or any where else, we believe, in the United States, and 
stands pre-eminent as the Hunt »fe Roskills (London) of Western America. Tlie visiter there 
will be struck with the large amount of valuable stock which is to be seen, consisting of 
the manufactures of some of the best makers in England, France, and Switzerland. 

In the same block stands, also, one of the finest, if not the finest, bookstore in the city, 
viz., :Messrs. Robert Clarke & Co.'s (late Derliy & Co). Tiiis store is handsomely fitted x\p, 
and filled with a large stock of rare and valuable works in all departments of literati\re 

99 



FOUKTH STREET, CIXCIXXATI. 

and science. Besides being publishers of several works, Messrs. CI 
from the publisliinir houses in Enirland and Scotl.-ind. 



1 



arke «fc Co. import direct 








In the same street (Fourth street), a little further west, stands, now completed, the new 
Opera House, with a frontage of 134 feet, 190 feet deep, having three front enti-ances, and 
f.'i luing the handsomest block in the city. This house is considered one of the finest of the 
kind in the United States; has seating capacity for 3,000 persons, besides an adjoining hall 
for lectures, etc., capable of seating 600 persons. It has three tiers of boxes, six proscenium 
boxrs, and a parquette (or pit), with the whole interior finished in a style corresponding 
witli its elegant exterior. (See engraving of ( )pera House on adjoining page.) Still further 
we>t stands the government offices, Post-Offiee, Custom House, etc., in one small but ele- 
gantly-proportioned building of chaste design. In this street may be seen some otlier fine 
blocks of buildings, and, no doubt, ere long the whole street will be lined with similar 
massive and elegant blocks built of the same beautiful stone. 

100 




THE COURT HOCJSE, ClNULXJSATi. 




THE NEW OPERA HOUSE, CINCINNATI. 

From a Photograph on WooJ, by Prices' Patent Process, 



NATIONAL THEATKE, CIXCIXXATI. 

Amongst tlie many liandsome buildings in the city, few show a finer exterior or more 
substantial appearance than the National Theatre, on Sycamore street, built by Mr. Joiin 
Bates. It presents, as will be seen by our engraving of it, a very handsome exterior, 
ornamented with some very finely-executed sculptor work. Whilst the exterior shows to 
such great advantage, the interior is tastefully decorated and fitted up. After the old 
tlieatre was burned down, we understand a company was formed to build a new one, but 




a- sometimes " too many cooks spoil the broth," it was likely to prove so in tliis instance, 
when Mr. Bates stepped forward, and single-handed, provided the citizens with as comfort- 
:,ble and elegant a theatre as will be found in the United States. The house is built in the 
must substantial manner, and in that respect, as well as regards ventilation, is every thing 
thai is possible to attain. It is seated for 3000 people, and stands on a lot 100 feet front 
:.:id 200 feet deep: lieight of house 90 feet. The architect is Mr. Hamilton, who is also 

102 



THE PORK TRADE — THE EAGLE IRON WORKS. 

areliitect of the Masonic Temple, a view of wliich will be found on another page. The thea- 
tre was built under the personal superintendence of Mr. Bates, who watched its progress from 
the digging of the foundation to lighting up the gas on the opening night, on 4th July last. 

Under the lesseeship of Mr. Baker, the house, on our visit, was certainly "drawing" well. 
Every thing was put on the stage promptly and creditably, making the stranger forget, al- 
most, that he was witnessing " La Traviata" on the banks of the Ohio. 

There is scarcely any branch of manufoctures but what is carried on, more or less 
extensively in Cincinnati. Its great trade, however, consists in the article of pork. So 
much so, is this the case, that the city is pretty well known as the roEKOpous of Amer- 
ica. In the winter season droves of pigs may be seen, being driven along the streets on 
their way to the killing and packing-houses, where they are killed, plotted, cut up, pickled, 
and packed, with a rapidity tiiat is scarcely conceivable. Along the roads, the animals 
are to be seen reaching the city from neighbouring villages, whilst the railroad vans are 
loaded with them from all parts of the west. To Cincinnati the pork and provision 
dealers in Belfast (Ireland) find their way once a year, to make purchases and contracts 
for their supplies, and to there, as well as ports in England, immense shipments are 
made during the course of the j'ear. Besides what is killed in the city, Cincinnati finds 
a market for a large amount of pork and bacon — in bulk. Thus we find, in one j'ear, the 
quantity to be over -150,000 hogs, 17,000,000 bbls. of pork in bulk, and 11,000 hogsheads of 
bacon, as received into the city. The total amount of which was estimated at $5,500,000, 
or £1,100,000 sterling. In connection with the manufactures of the city, lard and oil forms 
important articles. In the articles shipped from the citj', a large proportion is in pork, 
bacon, oil, lard, whiskey, wine, furniture, and machinerj'. 

Amongst the large manufacturing establishments connected with the city, the Eagle 
Foundry of Miles Greenwood, must take the first place. It is one of the largest of its 
kind in the United States, and an establishment, where, probably, a greater variety of 
articles are manufactured under one roof, than can be named in any other citj'. There 
will be found articles varying in size and weight, from 300 pieces in a lb., to 10 tons 
for one piece, vei'ifying, almost, the popular saying, of every thing from " a needle, to an 
anchor." In the manufacture of one article alone — that of stoves — no less than 2500 tons 
of iron are used annualh*. Butt hinges are made in enormous quantities, and with a stock 
on hand, apparently, sufficient to hinge all the doors in the States. Until the manufacture 
of this article by Mr. Greenwood, America was dependent upon Great Britain fur them. 
There is scarcely an article in the iron or hardware trade but what is, or can be manufac- 
tured at this establishment, extending, even, to music, and other sorts of stools; hat-stands, 
tables, etc., of tasteful design and finish, and even articles of delicate manufacture — such as 
planetariums — are manufactured, as we noticed. The establishmeut is divided into several 
departments — each under efficient superintendence — two of the principal departments being 
under the management of Mr. Folger, and Mr. Yates, who are associated as partners with 
Mr. Greenwood in what pertains to their own departments. 

Amongst the heavier description of work turned out, are those of basement-fronts for 
stores, as well as for entire fronts of stores and houses. The beautiful front with Corin- 
thian pillars, on Carlisle's block in 4th street, are from Mr. Greenwood's establislinient, al- 
though now that they are painted and sanded over, it is impossible, almost, to tell the dif- 
ference lietween tiiem and the stone of which the upper part is built. Mr. Greenwood is 
an excellent example of the many self-made men with which this country abounds, and we 
are only paj-ing a well-earned tribute, when we say, that for public spirit, energy of 
character, and large heartedness, we question if the queen city has his match. The read- 
er is referred to our notices of the fire-engine establishment, and mechanics' institution for a 
few practical samples of Mr. Greenwood's character. At present, when trade is dull every 
■vVhere, there are only about 400 men employed at the works. In ordinary good times, 
flilly 500 are employed. One of the most gratifying facts connected with this establish- 
ment is that during the long period of 26 years, it lias never stood idle for a single day — 
although nearly the whole concern was burned down in 1845. 

103 



WIXE GROWIXG AND TRADE OF CIXCIXXATI. 

Strangers in tl.e queen city will be much gratified with a visit to this mammoth estab- 
lishment, wliere they will be most courteously received, and shown over the premises 

In the single article of grist mills, large quantities are manufactured, one of the^pnnci- 
pal houses engaged therein, being Messrs. W. W. Hamer & Co 

As is well known Cincinnati has already earned a world-wide notoriety for its wines- 
ami judging from the rapid increase in the cultivation of the grape, and manufacture of 
wine, there is every likelihood of its becoming a rival even to the trade in pork in its 
immensity-. ' ' 

In connection with the wine manufacture, one of the most notable things connected with 
this city, IS the establishment of Mr. N. Longworth, the celebrated wine-grower A visit 
to his wine cellars will astonish tlie stranger. There will be found upwards of 800 000 
dozens of bottles of the Catawba wine, maturing till ready to be sent out. The cel'lars 
consist of two vaults. 90 by 120 feet, in two tiers, the lower one being 25 feet below ground. 
One cask, alone there, holds 4,575 gallons of wine. Mr. Longworth has spent ma„; years 
and a large amount of money, in bringing the Catawba grape to its present state 'ot* per- 
fection. In tins respect he may be considered the father of the wine trade, there as well as 
one of the " City Fathers." His wines find their way all over the United States to En^- 
and. Mexico, Brazil, Paissia, etc. The " Sparkling Catawba" is very like champagne and 
the uninitiated in such articles would scarcely know the difference. The wine made there 
contains about 11 to 12 per cent of alcohol. 

As long as Cincinnati lasts the name of Nicolas Longworth will be intimately associated 
with It, and hundreds of the very lowest and most degraded of the population will some 
day, miss his extraordinary benevolenee-which reaches in one form alone, in seains of 
distress-the free distribution of from 8(.0 to 500 loaves of bread every week to the most 
necessitous poor. In the distribution of his charity he is peculiar, if not eccentric. Many 
stories are told of him in this respect. As one which we have not seen published, and to 
give an idea of the man. we may mention, that when lately called upon by a deputation 
for his subscription to assist the "Lord's poor," his reply was, that he had enough to do in 
aking care of, and looking after, the " Devil's poor," it being, as we have said, the most 
degraded whom Mr. Longworth makes his peculiar choice. He not only gives awav 
argely in bread, etc., but provides houses actually free of rent, to many who ^re not able 
to pay for them, and yet such tenants are more trouble to him than those who pav rent. 
He IS. altogether, a self-made man. He commenced his career in a very humble capacity 
and now, although said to be the millionareof the city, has, apparently, not a particle of 
pride about him. His house is a princely dwelling, adorned with some gems of art in 
sculpture and painting, of great beauty and value. For example, in his drawing-room is 
to be seen the first specimen of sculpture ever executed by the celebrated Hiram Powers 
and a gem it is. ' 

The turn-out of wine in Mr. Longworth's establishment is about 150,000 bottles per an- 



num 



Other firms m the city are now engaged in the manufacture of wine. A lar<re German 
population, now inhabiting the lulls around the city, as well as parties on thc\entuckv 
side of the river, are engaged in the cultivation of the vine, and scarcely an inch of ground 
is to be seen on the hill-sides but what is covered with vines, growing. 

Tlie population of Cincinnati is about 200,000. 

One of the finest views of Cincinnati is t'o be got from off the t..p of one of the hills on 
the Kentucky side of the river, especially any of tiiose a little further west tliau the city 
from off which, our sketch as given elsewhere, was taken 

104 



WHEELING, VIRGINIA. 




WHEELING, VIRGINIA. 



The view given above represents one of the nnraeroiis busy and enterprising towns situ- 
ated in the heart of a beautiful countrj'. 

Wheeling forms an important junction for sevei-al railways diverging to and from it in 
all directions. The chief object of attraction about the town is the magnificent Suspension 
Bridge — the largest of the kind in tlie United States, and one of the largest in the world, 
erected at a cost of $210,000 : length of span, lOlO feet ; height above low-water mark, 
97 feet; height of towers on Wheeling side, 153 feet: supported by 12 wire cables laid in 
pairs — 3 pairs, 1 each side of the flooring, each of which is 4 inches in diameter — composed 
of 550 strands of 1880 feet long. It has a carriage-way of 11 feet broad, with a sidewalk 
of 3-J- feet on each side. (See engraving on following page.) 

Various branches of manufacture are carried on — such as glass, stones, nails, all kinds of 
iron manufactures, some woollen and cotton goods, with one silk mill. 

Tlie hills in the immediate vicinity contain inexhaustible supplies of coal, wliidi supply 
fuel at a small cost to the various manufacturing estaldishments in Wlieeling. 

The city is approached by the Ohio River from Rittsburg and Cincinnati, whilst rail- 
way communication is to be had from all points to it — from the west as well as seaboard 
— forming as it does, one of the leading junctions. 

Wheeling is one of the termini of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 380 miles long, 
and finished in 1853. Distant from Wheeling, 92 miles; Cincinnati, 3C.5 miles; and 350 
miles noi-th-west of Richmond, Va. 

Besides the county building, there are some 15 churches, several academies, 2 banks and 
several newspapers. Population, in 1850, 11,391. Location — capital of Ohio County, A'a. : 
lat. 40° 7' N; Ion. 80° 42' W. It is situated on a high bank of the River Ohio, along 
whicli it stretches for about 2 miles. 

105 



BALTIMORE. 



CITY OF BALTIMORE. 

Baltimore, the " Monumental City" of the United States, ranks amongst the most im- 
poitant commercial cities in the Union. 

" The city is admirablj- situated both for foreign and internal commerce. The hay around 
which it is built, affords a secure and spacious harbour, and it has communication by rail- 
way not only with Philadelphia and Washington, but with Winchester, Annapolis, Cum- 
Ix-rlaii.l, Frederick City, York, Lancaster, and Harrisburg. The limits of the city comprise 
about 10,(ii)U acres of land, extending about four miles and a half from east to west, and 
thrte and a half from north to south. It consisted originally of more than fifty elevations 
or liills, se})arated by abrupt valleys, or ravines, and, in a few instances, by formidable 
marshes, while, nearly in the centre, it is divided by a rapid stream of water known as 
" Jones's Falls." This stream has several times overflowed its banks, causing loss of life, as 
well as occasioning a great damage to property. The city authorities have in consequence 
been at great pains to remove all obstructions from its bed, and have taken care that the 
numerous bridges by which the stream is crossed, should be constructed with a single arch, 
and of such a height as to remove all further danger from this source. The city east of 
Jones's Falls is divided into two parts — Fell's Point and the Old Town. The Point is the 
mojt easterh" portion of Baltimore, and has the advantage of greater depth of water at the 
wharves than the upper harbour contains. It is the resort of seamen and immigrants, and 
the place where the greater part of the shipbuilding and manufactures of the city are car- 
ried on. Old Town lies north and west of this, and is principally inhabited by mechanics 
and labourer.-. The portion west of " the Falls" is likewise divided into two parts, the City 
Pioper and Spring Garden section. The former is the centre of trade, and contains most 
of the residences of the more wealthy citizens. Spring Garden section is the extreme 
south-western quarter, and is inhabited chiefly by mechanics and labourers. From the 
number and prominence of its monuments, Baltimore has been denominated the Monu- 
mental city. The most remarkable of these is the Washington Monument, which stands on 
an eminence at the intersection of Charles and Monument streets, about 150 feet above high 
water mark. Its base, 20 feet higli and 50 feet square, suppoi-ts a Doric column 1G7 feet ia 
heigiit, surmounted by a statue of Washington 13 feet high. The shaft, 20 feet square at 
the base and 14 at the top, is ascended by means of a winding stairway within. The whole 
is composed of white marble, and cost $200,000. Its sumudt commands a beautiful and 
varied prospect. 

" Battle Monument, at the corner of Calvert and Fayette streets was erected in 1815, to 
the memory of those who fell while defending the city from the attack of the British, Sep- 
tember 12, 1814. 

"The Armisteao Monument, a beautiful specimen of scul}>ture, near tlie city fountain, was 
erected to the memory of Colonel Geoi-ge Armistead, the commander of Fort McIIenry, 
when bombarded by a British fleet, in September, 1814. 

" Among the public edifices of Baltimore, may be named the City Hall, on Holiday street, 
occupied by the city council and public offices. The Court House, u commodious edifice at 
the corner of Washington and Lexington streets, contains the rooms of the city and county 
courts. The State Penitentiary, at the corner of Madison and Forrest streets, consists of 
three separate buildings besides the workshops. A short distance from the Penitentiary 
stands the County Prison, a handsome building, surmounted by a cupola, and ornamented 
with a tower at each end in the form of an octagon. The Exchange, in Gay street, near 
Water, is a spacious structure, 225 feet in front, 141 in depth, and three stories high above 
the basement. The south wing, fronting on Lombard street, and entered from Water street, 
is occupied as a Custom House. Among the first objects ihat strike the attention of one 
apiiroaching tiie city, are the shot towers, one of which — the Merchants' Shot Tower, is the 
highe-^t in the world, having an elevation of 250 feet. The most imposing chureii edifice 
in Baltimore is the Roman Catholic cathedral, on Mulberry street, between Charles and 

107 



n 




BALTIMORE. 

Cathedral streets. It is a massive granite structure, 190 feet long, 177 broad, and 127 from 
the ground to the top of the cross surmounting the dome. The Unitarian Church, at the 
corner of Franklin and Charles streets, is much admired for its architecture. It is 108 feet 
long and 78 wide, with a dome 55 feet in diameter, supported by 4 arches, each 33 feet 
span. It is 80 feet from the ground to the summit of the cupola. St. Paul's, an E{)iscopal 
church on the corner of Sarotoga and Charles streets, the First Presbyterian Church, corner 
of North and Fayette streets, the First Baptist Church, at the corner of Lombard and Sliarp 
streets, and the German Reformed Church, in Second, between Gay and Belvidere streets, 
.ire all distinguislied either for elegance or their style of architecture. At the last census, 
Baltimore contained 99 churches of the various denominations. 

"Institutions. — The educational, literary, and benevolent institutions of Baltimore are nu- 
merous. The Medical School of the University of Maryland was founded in 1807. Wash- 
ington Medical College was founded in 1827, and has 25 students and sLx professors. The 
University of Maryland, founded in 1812, is situated on Lombard street, between Green 
and Paca streets : connected with it is the Baltimore Eye and Ear Infirmary, where stu- 
dents have an opportunity of attending lectures and witnessing operations. The Marj'land 
Institute occupies a suite of rooms in the Athenseum, at the corner of Lexington and St, 
Paul streets. Its object is, the diffusion of useful knowledge and the promotion of the me- 
elianic arts. It possesses an extensive chemical laboratory, and a very complete pnilosoph- 
ical apparatus. The building is a noble brick edifice, 112 feet bj- 50, and 66 in height. It 
was completed in 1848, at a cost of over $28,000. The various apartments, besides those 
appropriated to the use of the Institute, are occupied by the Mercantile Association, who 
have a well-selected library of 8000 volumes, and an ample supplj' of the choicest 
magazines and papers of the day; the Baltimore Library Company, possessing a valuable 
librarj' of 14,000 volumes; and the American Historical Societj-, whose library numbers 
about 15,000 vftlumes, consisting, for the most part, of statistical and historical works. The 
City Library, designed for the use of the stockholders, the Apprentices' Library, ajd the 
Exchange Reading-room, are all important institutions. The Exchange Reading-room is 
supported by subscription. Strangers and masters of vessels, however, have access to the 
periodicals and newspapers, free of expense. Tlie Baltimore Hospital, in the north-western 
suburb of the city, consists of a centre building, four stories high, flanked with wings that 
connect with two other buildings, which form the ends of the vast pile. Tlie entire struc- 
ture cost $150,000. It occupies a commanding elevation, overlooking the city, the bay, 
and a wide extent of country. The interior arrangements are upon the most approved 
plan. The Almshouse is on the Franklin road, about 2 miles N. W. from the city : the 
building, consisting of a centre and two wings, has 375 feet front, and is surrounded with 
spacious grounds. The Baltimore Manual Labour School for Indigent Boys has connected 
with it a tract of land, on which, between the hours of studj', the pupils ai-e occupied in 
labour, thus combining useful employment with healthful exercise. The Baltimore Associa- 
tion for Improving the Condition of the Poor is under the direction of those whose duty it 
is to visit and inquire into the circumstances and character of the persons relieved, with a 
view to discourage indiscriminate and injudicious alms-giving. The other prominent ben- 
evolent institutions are, the Citj- Dispensary, corner of Holiday street and Orange alley, 
the Eastern Dispensary, corner of Market street and Hartford Run avenue, two Orphan 
Asylums, and the Indigent Sick Society, composed of ladies, who visit the poor and minis- 
ter to their comforts in sickness. 

"Educ.\tion. — The system of public instruction in Baltimore has, within a few years past, 
been much improved, and is now rapidly increasing in public favour. 

" Commerce, Finances, etc. — In commercial importance, Baltimore ranks among the first 
cities in the United States. Its position is such as to render it a great centre of trade. Sit- 
uated near the head of Chesapeake Bay, it enjoys superior advantages for foreign commerce, 
while the numerous lines of railway, that here have their termination, invite to it the ag- 
ricultural and mineral wealth of a vast interior. The recent completion of the Baltimore 
and Ohio railroad to Wheeling, is a most important event, and destined to exert an immense 

109 



BATTLE MONUMENT AND GRACE CHURCH, BALTIMORE. 




BATTLE MOXUMEXT, BALTIMORE. 



Baltimore possesses so many monuments commemorative of great events, and of dis- 
tinguished men, that she has by common consent been termed the " Monumental Gty." 

Wash ington Jfo7imn en t, 
■which is the hirgest in 
the city, stands upon a 
terrace 100 feet above 
the water, and from its 
base, whicli is 50 feet 
square and 20 feet high, 
rises a Doric shaft 176 
feet in height, on the top 
of which is a colossal 
statue of Washington 16 
feet high. Tlie work is 
of wliite marble, and cost 
$200,000. 

The Battle Jtlomanent, 
represented in our en- 
graving, stands at the 
corner of Calvert and 
Fayette streets, and was 
erected to the memory 
of those patriots who lost 
their lives in defending 
the citj- against the Bri- 
tish troops, in Septem- 
ber, 1814. Tlie square base, on which the column rests, is 20 feet high, with a door on 
each side, on which are inscribed, in hasso-rclievo, appropriate descriptions and repre- 
sentations of the leading incidents of tlie battle. A marble column rises 18 feet from the 
base, and is encircled with bands, on which are inscribed, in letters of gold, the names 
of those who fell in the 
struggle. The whole is 
surmounted by a female 
figure in marVile, emble- 
matic of the City of 
Baltimore. Tlie whole 
hciglit of the monument 
is 52 feet. 

Grace Church, which 
is dedicated to the Epis- 
copal service, stands 
at the corner of Monu- 
ment and Park streets, 
and is built t>f red sand- 
stone. It is considered 
to be a fine specimen 
of the simplest style 
of Gothic architecture. 
Interiorly, its furni*li- 
ing is in keeping with 
its external appear- 
ance. It has a large 
congregation. 




Oa^C£ CHOSCH. 



110 



BALTIMORE. 

influence on the commercial activity of this great emporium. In the eloquent language of 
one of her citizens, " We have reached the threshold and stepping-stone of our true com- 
mercial greatness, and there is nothing now that can turn us back. The wide and far West 
has opened her ample arms to receive us, and bids us God-speed in our efforts to secure the 
prize which nature has so long and so patiently held out to us." There were, January 3d, 
1853, 12 banks in Baltimore, with an aggregate capital of $7,291,415, and a circulation of 
$2,074,587 ; 2 other banks have since been chartered; 1 health and 10 fire and marine in- 
surance companies, besides many insurance agencies. 

" Baltimore enjoys superior advantages for manufactures. Jones's Falls and Patnpsco 
River afford immense water-power, which is extensivelj^ employed for flouring-mills, of 
which there are over 60 within 20 miles of the city. Numerous cotton and other manu- 
factories are also in operation. 

" This city has an abundant supply of pure water, both from Springs and from Jones's Falls. 
These springs, or fountains, are in different parts of the city, and enclosed with circular iron 
railings. Over them are small open temples, consisting of a dome supported by pillars. 
The water from Jones's Falls is brought by means of an aqueduct, about half a mile long, 
to a reservoir in Calvert street, and from thence is conducted through distributing pipes to 
the various parts of the city. The more elevated portions, however, are supplied from a 
reservoir replenished by forcing-pumps on an eminence in Charles street, near Washington 
Monument. On Federal Hill is an observatory, which serves, in connection with another 
at Bodkin Point, to announce the approach of vessels. In this way, a marine telegraph is 
established, by which information is conveyed in a few minutes from the mouth of the Pa- 
tapseo to an observatory in the Exchange. 

" About 25 newspapers are issued in Baltimore, of which 6 or 7 are dailies. Population, 
about 200,000." 

Ill 



CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. 




VIEW OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CITY OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. 



Charleston, the largest and wealthiest city in South Carolina, is situated on a tongue of 
land formed by the meeting of Cooper and Ashly Rivers, which unite in forming a beauti- 
ful harbour of great capacity. Cooper River is 1400 yards, and Ashly River 2100 yards 
wide, opposite the city, and their average depth about 40 feet. 

Charleston — poeticallj- called the Palmetto City — is one of the most ancient in the Union. 
Its foundations were laid as early as 1672. In 1677 it was called Oyster Point Town ; after- 
wards, New Charlestown, which was finally altered to Charleston, It was incorporated as 
a city in 1783. The ground upon which the city is built is low and flat, being elevated 
only 8 or 9 feet above high water mark ; but as the tide rises to a height of 6 feet, and flows 
past the city with a strong current, it contributes to the salubrity of a climate which other- 
wise would be unhealthy. Tlie city has several times suffered much damage by inunda- 
tion, caused by the water having been driven up the harbour by high winds. 

The streets are laid out regularlj', running from east to west and from north to south, 
forming a succession of square blocks. It is to be lamented that the original plan, which 
was adopted many years before the Revolution, did not recognize in the construction of the 
streets that amplitude of width which modern science and experience have demonstrated 
to be conducive to good health. The improvements of late years, however, have tended to 
widen many of the principal thoroughfares, some of which are from 60 to 70 feet in width. 

Most of the public buildings are of brick and stone, while the dwelling part of the city 
is covered with elegant villas, adorned with verandahs reaching from the ground to the tops 
of the houses, surrounded by green edges, and buried in tiie rich foliage of orange trees, 
magnolias, and palniettoes, giving an exquisite air of wealth and elegance to tlie place, ap- 
proaching the general idea of oriental ease and luxury. 

Charleston has many public buildings, among the most conspicuous of wliieh are the City 
Hall, the Exchange, District Court House, Arsenal, United States Custom House, i'ilitary 

113 



■ 



CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLmA. 
ChurcTes' '''' ^'"' '^ Charleston College, the Asylums. Hospitals, Banks, and about forty 

Many of the churches are elegant and capacious, and, as will be seen by lookinc. at our 
engrasanghfting their spires very far heavenward; that of St. Philip's, (Episcopalian,) 
bnng 200 feet Ingh, and the Cita.lel Square (Baptist) Church 224 feet high. In consequence 
of the low position of Charleston, these tall structures are efficient landmarks of the city 
ii'om the sea. ■^ 

C'hantaUe Jnstitutions.-Of these, Cliarleston possesses her full share, and sustains them 
Avith all the liberality of southern munificence. Among the first is the Orphan Asylum 
founded in 1792. It is the largest building in the city, being 228 feet long, 10 feet deep, 
and with an extension in the rear of 100 feet more. It contains 130 rooms, and accommo- 
dates about 250 pupils of both sexes, who are reared, nurtured, and instructed mostly at the 
city s expense. The Roper Hospital is another of the noble institutions of whi.h Charleston 
IS justly proud, and is named after its founder, who, in his bequest, desired it might ever be 
open for the reception of the sick, irrespective of creed or country. During the seasons of 
yellow fever, this institution proved of incalculable benefit. 

Educational Insfitutions.-ln addition to a number of high and common schools, Charles- 
ton possesses a college of excellent repute, containing a fine library of 10,000 volumes and 
one of the best museums in the Union. The Medical College of South Carolina is located 
here, and is said to contain the best anatomical lecture-room in America. It has re- 
cently been enlarged and improved, and is accounted a superior institution A lar-e and 
admirably-conducted Military Academy is located in Charleston and numbers fromlsO to 
200 students, one-half of whom are beneficiary members, educated at the expense of the 
city. The graduates have mostly been from the working classes, who have passed from the 
institution into useful public employment. The South Carolina Institute is designed for the 
promotion of the Mechanical and Agricultural Arts, and is sustained by the mutual aid of 
the city and state. 

Commerce.— The shipping interest of Charleston is very great, its chief exports being cot- 
ton, tobacco, rice, and lumber. For the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1858, her exports 
and imports of the leading articles of her commerce was as follows: 



EXPORTS. 



IMPORTS. 



Cotton, 284,642 bales, value, $15,311,468 Sugar, 5,406.'?03 pounds, value $'>95 888 

""' fil'S? t'''''f' !^ " 687 514 ^^°^^^*^«' 9^3.951 gallons, " ''l48;650 

,,.. . .64,621 barrels, f t)b/,oi4 ^^^^^^ 1,178,512 pounds, " 106 487 



Wheat, 144,961 busliels, " 191,650 

Flour, 51,242 barrels, " 304132 1 



Total, $16,494,953 



Salt, 320,263 bushels, " 37,687 

Total, $588,712 



Charleston possesses one of the finest floating dry docks in the country. It was built in 
1845. Its length is 160 feet ; its width 52 feet, and its depth 20 feet Its capacity is 1500 
tons. The operations of the dock are carried on by means of a larg« steam-engine. 

liailroach.— In January, 1859, there were 748 miles of railroad in South Carolina, all of 
them finding a terminus in Charleston. The longest is the South Carolina Railroad, run- 
ning from Charleston to Augusta, and is 136 miles long, having numerous connections west- 
ward and northward, through which an immense amount of mercandise is transported to 
and fro. Other roads bring Charleston in connection with Montgomery, Alabama, 482 miles 
distant, and with Nashville, Tennessee, 600 miles distant, and from thence a chain of links 
extends as far as Memphis, on the Mississippi River. Charleston also possesses an excellent 
canal, 22 miles long, w hich connects the harbour with Santee River. 

Population.— The growth of Charleston in population has not been so rapid as in some 
other of the southern cities. In 1840, she had about 30,000. In 1850, 42,000. At the 
present time, (1859.) her population, counting St. Philip's parish, which is, in fact, a part 
of the city, although not taken in the last census, is not far from 65,000. 

114 



CITY OF PITTSBUBG. 




PITTSBURG COURT HOUSE. 



CITY OF PITTSBURG. 



The traveller acquainted with the neighbourhood of the " Black Country," between 
Birmingham and Walsall and Dudley, in Staffordshire, (England,) will, on his visit to the 
City of Pittsburg, at once discover the striliing resemblance, in many respects, to the dis^ 
tricts alluded to. There are the same red brick houses and workshop*, the same smoke, 
the same uneven streets — from the heavy weiglits drawn over them — and at night, the glare 
of the iron furnaces at work. The picture is, in many respects, complete, even to the poor 
soil of the hilly country around each — a peculiarity observable in all surfaces where un- 
derneath is rich in minerals. 

On the stranger's fir.st visit to Pittsburg, therefore, after visiting either the cities on tho 
seaboard, or, perhaps, the " Queen City of the West," " the Forest City," or the " City of 
the Lakes," where not a vestige of smoke scarcely is to be seen — ^he may be disappointed 
at the first sight of Pittsburg. 

Viewed from the hill opposite Pittsburg Proper — exactly opposite the Monongahela 
House — the city is seen to greatest advantage — with its 5 bridges (and new one building) 
stretcliing across the Alleghany and Monongahela — which together at this point form the 
Ohio — whilst it can be seen wending it< way down the beautiful vallc}' which bears its 
name. Either from Alleghany City, or the point mentioned, an excellent view is obtained 
— being far higher than the city on the Pittsburg side of tho river. 
To quote from a notice of this city, the writer says: — 

" The site of the city is a natural amphitheatre, being environed on all sides by beauti- 
ful hills, rising from 400 to 500 feet above the level of the Ohio, and filled with coal, iron, 
and limestone, the working of which into articles of utility constitutes tiie chief occupa- 
tion of the inhabitants. These hills are not, except in a few insiaiiecj, precipitous, and 
from their slopes and peaks, afford a series of rich and varied landscapes. 

110 



CITY OF PITTSBURGH. 

"Pittsburg and its suburbs contain about 90 churches, of which upwards of 50 are in 
the city proper. Many of these are choice specimens of architectural beauty. 

"The manufactures of Tittsburg are immense, and capable of being exte..ded almost n- 
definitely. Indeed there is no known limits to the elements necessary to their augmenta^ 
tion. Wood, coal, ores, and agricultural resources, all abound in the utmost profusion and 
at the greatest possible convenience. , •,„ i^o j f.,n 

There are also in Pittsburg, large foundries, manufactories of glassware, white lead ae- 
toxlriarg cotton factories copper-rolling n.iU, copper-smelting estabhshment, v.al fur- 
n. OS manufactories of locks, coffee mills, scales, etc., and several for the production of 
various articles of steel manufacture, such as springs, saws, axes, anvds, and vices; and 
others for making gun-barrels and agricultural utensils. .,,.„. , 

G. manufact^rfd from bituminous coal, is furnished at a comparatively trifling cost 
for n^hirtl- city. The Alleghany Cemetery, on the Alleghany River, 2 mdes abo 
PUtsburg, ts one of the most beautiful places of the kind in the world. It compri.es 110 
acres, tastefully adorned, and enclosed by a wall of stone masonry. 

As may be well known, Pittsburg was named in honour of the celebrated Bntuh prime 
„i;nUtPr* William Pitt It was founded in 1165. 

™r^nr districts of Birmingham together with ^Heg W CHy>™ ^1^ lar^ 
and raphUv-increa.ing city of Pittsburg. In 1853. the population of city and suburb, 
was 110,«241, although it mu.t be considerably increased since then. 




FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CUUUOII, PlTTbBl RGH. 
117 



DISTANCES ON THE MISSISSIPPI AND MISSOURI. 



DISTANCES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 



PLACES, 



St. Paul to 

Red Rock, Min 

Hastings, Min 

Red Wing 

Kansas, Wis 

Wabasha 

Fountain City, Wis.. 
Minnesota City, Min. 

Montoville, Wis 

Rising Sun, Min 

La Cross, Wis 

Brownsville, Min. . . 

Battlefield, Wis 

Lansing, Iowa 

Prairie du Chien, | 

Wis i 

Cincinnati, Wis 

Mendota, Wis 

Cassville, Wis 

Buena Vista, Iowa. . 

Potosi, Wis 

Peru, Iowa 

Dubuque, Iowa 

Moselle, 111 

Portsmouth, 111 

Savannah, 111 

Fulton City, 111 

Albany, III 

Cordova, 111 

Parkhurst, Iowa 

Hampton, III 

Davenport, Iowa. . . 
Rock Island City. . . 

Buffalo, Iowa 

Iowa, Iowa 

Fairpoiut, Iowa 

Muscatine, Iowa 

Port Louisa, Iowa. . . 

New Boston, 111 

Keithsburg, 111 

Huron, Iowa 

Oquawka, 111 

Burlington, Iowa... 

Pontoosue, 111 

Appanoose, 111 

Fort Madison lo 

Nauvoo, III 

Nashville, lo 

Montebello, III 

Keokuk, Io 

Warsaw, III 

Des Moines City, Mo. 

Tully, Mo 

Lagrange, Mo 

QuiNcr, 111 

Marion City, Mo 

Hannibal, Mo 



PLACES. 



17 

43 

68 

7 "J 

94 

104 

109 

121' 

I2.5I 

133: 

140, 

1G1| 

179 

1.89' 
199' 
210 
215, 
227 
234 
242 
268 
276 
294l 
303 
310 
321' 
327 1 
334 
345 
348 
3551 
363! 
370, 
376| 
392' 
402 
409 
418 
428 
443 
4-58: 
463! 
466' 
474, 
478 
484 
488 
492 
500 
512 
518 
530, 
537 
547' 



Saverton, Mo 

Salt River, Mo 

Clarksville, Mo 

Hamburg, 111 

Gilead, 111 

Deer Plains, Mo 

Illinois River 

Randolph, 111 

Alton, 111 

MISSOURI River. . . 

Madison, 111 

Venice, 111 

St. LOUIS, Mo 

Cahokia, 111 

Carondolet, Mo 

Jeff. Barracks, Mo . . 

Clifton, Mo 

Harrisonville, 111. . . . 
Herculaneum, Mo. . . 

Rush Tower, Mo 

Fort Chartres, 111... 
St. Genevieve, Mo.. . 

Chester, 111 

Port Perry, Mo 

Liberty, 111 

Wittemberg, Mo 

Devil's Bake Oven. . 

Breeseville, 111 

Birmingham, Mo 

IDevil's Tea Table... 

Hamburg, 111 

Cape Girardeau, 111.. 

Thebes, 111 

|New Phila. Mo 

jOhio City, Mo 

'Cairo, and the. . . 
lOHIO RIVER.... 

Norfolk, Mo...... 

Baldwinsville, Mo.. 

Hickman, Ky 

New Madrid, Mo . . . 
Point Pleasant, Mo. 

Walker's Bend 

Little Prairie, Mo. . 
Needham's Cut-oflf. 

iAshport, Tenn 

,Osceola, Ark 

Fulton, Tenn 

Randolph, Tenn 

Pecan Point, Ark.. 

Greenock, Ark 

Mound City, Ark. . . 
MEMPHIS. Tenn.. 
Pickering, Tenn... 

Grayson, Ark 

I Norfolk, Miss 

Blue's Point, Ark . . 



Miles. 



555 
573' 

587! 
602 
611' 
G38' 
644; 
655i 
662' 
667 
670| 
678, 
682j 
686! 
6871 
6921 
71l| 
7 13 1 
715i 
722| 
731' 
744, 
760; 
767; 
771 
798' 
803' 
806 
814 
817 
823 
833 
842 
852 

873 

879 

891 

915 

959 

968 

989 

996 

1020 

1028 

1040 

lO.iO 

1060 

1070 

1107 

1119 

1127 

1129 

1135 

1137 

1155 



PLACES. 



Commerce, Miss.. 

Austin, Miss 

Sterling, Ark 

Helena, Ark 

Delta, Miss 

Horse-Shoe Bend. 
Old Town, Ark. . . . 

Barney's, Ark 

Concordia, Miss. . . 

Victoria, Miss 

Napoleon, Ark 

Bolivia, Miss 

Gaines's Landing, Ar 
Columbia, Ark.. . . 
Point Chicot, Ark. 
Greenville, Miss.. 
Washington Landing 
Princeton, Miss. . . 
Providence, La. . . . 
Tompkinsville, La. 
Brunswick, Miss. . 
Campbellsville, La 
Millikinsville, La.. 
Young's Point, La 
Walnut Hills, Miss 
VicKSBURG, Miss. . 
Warrentown, Miss 
New Carthage, La. 
Point Pleasant, La 
Bruinsburg, Miss. 
St. Joseph, La. . . . 

Rodney, Miss 

Natchez, Miss. . . . 
Ellis's Cliffs, Miss. 
Union Point, La. . 
Fort Adams, Miss. 
Red River Cut-off. 
Red River Landing 
Raccourci Bend. . . : 

Tunica Bend 

Point Coupee, La. . 

Waterloo, La 

Port Hudson, La. . 
Thomas's Point. . . 
Baton Rouge, La. 

Manchuc, La 

Plaquemine, La. . . 

Iberville, La 

Donaldsonville, La 
iJefferson College, L 
Bonnet Carre, La. 
Red Church, La... 
CarroUton, La ... . 
Lafayette Citv, La. 
NEW ORLEANS. 



Miles. 

1157 
1163 

1183 
1193 
1201 
1207 
1210 
1220 
1250 
1260 
1280 
1293 
1328 
1346 
1350 
1354 
1376 
1386 
1415 
1430 
1444 
1454 
1456 
1462 
1474 
1474 
1482 
1499 
1509 
1535 
1541 
1545 
15S6 
1604 
1607 
1630 
1641 
1647 
1651 
1657 
1681 
1686 
1692 
1705 
1717 
1732 
1740 
1750 
1774 
1790 
1814 
1830 
1849 
1854 
1856 



DISTANCES ON THE MISSOURI. 



IFrom rliice 

PLACES. 1 >■•''•-- 


ToImI 
.list. 

Miles 


[From Place 

PL.\CES, 1 '"P"""- 


Total 
■list. 


iFrom Place 

PLACES. 1 "''''»«• 


T.ital 
<li4t. 




Mil.s. 

441 
110 
675 




Miles. 


Miles. 




Miles. 
3 

2 
5 
2 
2 
12 


Miles. 


Source of the Mis- 
souri to 

"Gates of the Rocky i 
Mountains" ) 

Great Falls 


441 

551 

1226 


Sioux Citt, Io 

Tekama, Neb 

iDe Soto, Neb 

Fort Calhoun, Neb.. 

Florence, Neb 

Council Bluff's ) 
City, Io | 


1075 
60 
3(1 

15 
10 

10 


2301 
2361 

2:591 
L'4nfi 
"416 


Council Point, Io.. . . 
Traders' Point, Io.. . 

Bellfvue, Neb 

Si. Mary's, Io 

l(";ilitnriiiM Citv ^n 


2431 
2434 
2436 
2441 
2443 
2445 
2457 


Mouth of Yellow ) 
Stone River.... j 


„ .„„ Platsville, Io 

2*2^ Kenosha, Neb 



119 



DISTAN-CES ON THE OHIO. 




Nebraska City, Neb. 
Brownsville, Neb.. . 

Iowa Poiut, Mo 

Nodeway City, Mo.. 

St- Joseph, Mo 

Leachman, Mo 

Doniphan, Kan 

Atcliinson, Kan 

Kickapoo City, Kan'. 
Weston, Mo 

Ft. LEAVENWOaTH, k 

Little Platte Riv. lo 

Paikville, Mo 

Kansas, Mo 

Randolph, Mo ... 

Wayne City, Mo 

Liberty Landing, Mo 
Livingston, Mo . . . 
Richfield, Mo 

Sibley. Mo 

Napoleon, Mo. . 
Camden, AIo. .. 
Wellington, Mo 



Crooked River, Mo 

Walconda, Mo 

Waverly, Mo 

.Hill's Landing, Mo.. 
Miami, Mo 

I'De Witt, Mo .■; 

Grand River, Mo 

lirunswiek. Mo 
Old Jet}erson,Mo...' 

Cambridge, Mo 

Chariton River, Mo. 
Glasgow, Mo. . . 

iBluftport, Mo '.'. 

i.Vrrow Rock, Mo... 
La Mine River, Mo. 



I Miles. M.les. 

2764 Stonesport, Mo I 10 2^44 

6 2950 
y 2959 

5 2964 



2770 Jefferso.n- City, Mo 
2785llFormosa, Mo....... 

27ss Cote Sans Dessein, ) 

iu,279.s Mo [ 

20:2sls Smith's LandiiiV,' / 

6 2824;; Mo j 

6'2.S29 [Portland, .\lo. 

2|2H31:, Hermann, Mo 

25 2S56 Bridgeport, Mo 

2 2s.i,s Piiickiiev, Mo . . . 

5 28ii;; Washington, Mo.... 

3j286(i South Point, Mo 

5|2871 Portmuna, Mo 

1012881 St. Albans, Mo. 

10 2891 Port Royal, Mo 



Booneville, Mo | r, 2897 Pittman's Ferry, Mo 

Rocheport, Mo i 12; 2909 St. Charles, Mo. 

Mt. \ eruon. Mo 8 2917 Jamestown, Mo. . ' " ' 

Providence Mo 6 2923 Bellefontaine, Mo ' 

.Nashville, Mo. 2 2925 ,Mouthof the Mis- i 



Moniteau, Mo 
Marion, Mo 



8 2972 

16 29S8 
6 3004 
H 3005 
12 3017 
16 3033 
3 3036 
6 3u42 

9 3051 
3 3054 
5 3059 

18 3077 

16 3093 

2 3095 



DISTANCES ON THE OHIO. 



PLACES. 



I From Place I Total 11 
to Place. Idisu PLACES. 



PiTSEURG, Pa. to 

Manchester, Pa 

Middleton, Pa '. 

Sewickleyville, Pa.. 
Economv, Pa 

Baden, Pa .'..'. 

Freedom, Pa 

Rochester, Pa 

Beaver, Pa 

Georgetown, Pa 

Liverpool, 0. 
Wellsville, 0..."" 

Eihotsville, 

Newburg, 

Steubenville, 

AVellsburg, Va 

Warrenton, 
Tiltonsville, 0..'..'. 
Burlington, '. 

^VIIEELING, Va 

Bellaire, .'.,', 

Manny ville, Va .' 

Steinerville, 0.. .. . . 

Clarington, O 

-New Martinsville, Va 

Sistersville, Va 

Newport, ., 

Marietta, [ 

^'ienna, Va [ 

P AI!KER,SBURG, Va . . . 

Blannerhassett's I 
Trov, 0.... 
Belleville, Va.....'.".' 
Murraysville, Va... . 
Ravenswood, Va.... . 

Letarts ville, ..' 

Graham's Station, 0. 
Minersville, 

Cheshire, '.'.'.'.'. 

Addison, 

Point Ple;isant,Va.. 
Gallipolis, 



248 Home City, 0. . . . 



Big Racoon Creek, 
2 Blandenburg, 0... 
11 Millersport, 
13 Haskellville, 0.. '.'.'.'. 
19 Guyandotte, Va 
23 Burlington, 0. 
25 Catlettsburg, Ky'." 

29 CoalGroverO.....' 

30 Ironton, O 

44 Hanging Rock, 6.. 
48 Greenupsburg, Ky 
52| Wheelersburg, 

60| Sciotoville, 

62 Portsmouth, 

71 Alexandria, 0. 
78 Bradford, 0. . 

85 Rock ville, .'.' 

88 Vanceburg, Ky. 
92j Rome, O. ...."... .l' 

94| Concord, Ky 

98} Manchester, .'.'...'. 

106j Mavsville, Ky 

115 iCharleston, Ky 

122; Ripley, 0........V.'. 

130' jHiggi'nsport, 

139j j Augusta, Ky 

151 iMechanicsburg, 6. 

17o Fosterville, Ky '.. 

176 iPoint Pleasant, 0.'.'. 

183 New Richmond, 

185 Palestine, 

197; California, 0. 

201 Columbia, 

207 CINCINNATI, 6. V 
12| 219 Covington, Ky. f 
23 242 Clavsville, Ky 




PLACES. 



78 Belleview, Kv 

S4 Milleisburg,"la.. . [ [ 
14; 298 Warsaw, KTv 
31 301 Vevav, la ' 
10| 311 Carrollton, Kv 
8| 319 Madiso.v, la ' 
41 323 Westport, Kv 
4i 327| Utica, la...'...'..'', 

o\ 332i(LorisviLLE, Ky 

336 I New Albany, "la. 
342; West Point, Ky.....' 
3511 Brandenburg, Ky. 

353 Amsterdam, la ' I3 

362|!Fredonia, la.. ' 13 

365; Alton, la .'.'" j 14 

369i|Concordia, Ky 10 

3S0;|Rome, la " 12 

382[ [Clo verport, Ky lo 

389;|Hawesville, Ky 14 

396 Troy, la ' ' « 

403; Batesville, la...'.'.'.".' 3 
12! 415iiLewisport, Ky 3 

7 422 Rockport, la.' [ 13 

2 424 Owensburg, Ky. 
6 430 Hon Harbor, Ky .'.'. 

4 434 Enterprise, la...... 

8 442 Newburg, la 

3 445 EVANSVILLE, la 

5 450 Henderson, Ky 

5 455 West Franklin, la! 

4 459 Mount Vernon, la.. 
Ij 470 Wabash River.... 

21 472 iCasey ville, Kv 

(. 4.7fi i^'"^'6-in Rock', 111..' 

I I Golconda, 111 



.\IUej. 

508 

514 

536 

547 

557 

567 

591 

60S 

61S 

621 

C40 

658 

G71 

684 

09S 

708 

720 

730 

744 

750 



486 Smithland, Ky 15( 

4S8| Paducah, Ky | 12 



7 
7 

a\ o.-q "";"^;'^'^""',^. iii- . . I SJ, 498 Dairo, III | 

i\ 9-^ii^*''''^"^"'"*^' ^y 2} 500;:Mocth of Ohio. . f 

41 2(3ilAurora, la | 2I 502' '"--J 



2.-,o >orth Bend, 4, 492; AVilkinsonvllle, 111. . 

2 .2 (xRE.^T Miami River 41 496, Caledonia, III 

2;o Lawrenceburg, la... 2, 498 Cairo, HI. . )' 



75G 

769 
778 
781 
784 
798 
813 
825 
839 
851 
866 
387 

9o; 

930 
945 

957 
2(i 983 
10 993 

121005 



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